Terracotta fragment of a kylix (drinking cup)
Unknown Artist
460–440 BCE
Medium
Terracotta
Classification
Vases
Culture & Period
Greek, Attic · Classical
Department
Greek and Roman Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Dietrich von Bothmer, Distinguished Research Curator, Greek and Roman Art, 2011
Accession Number
2011.604.1.3884
Art Historical Context
This terracotta fragment from a kylix, or shallow drinking cup, hails from Attic Greece during the Classical period (460–440 BCE), a golden age of Athenian culture under Pericles. Produced in workshops near Athens, kylikes like this were essential for symposia—lively social gatherings where elite men reclined, drank wine, and discussed philosophy, politics, and poetry. Though only a fragment survives, it exemplifies the refined pottery of the era, crafted from fired clay and likely decorated in the red-figure technique, where figures were outlined in black slip against the natural red terracot...