Terracotta fragment of a kylix (drinking cup)
Unknown Artist
490–480 BCE
Medium
Terracotta
Classification
Vases
Culture & Period
Greek, Attic · Late Archaic
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
2011.604.1.4983
Art Historical Context
This delicate terracotta fragment from a kylix, or shallow drinking cup, hails from Attic Greece around 490–480 BCE, during the Late Archaic period. Produced in Athens, the epicenter of ancient Greek pottery, kylikes like this were essential for symposia—ively social gatherings where elite men reclined, drank wine mixed with water, and engaged in philosophy, poetry, and revelry. Though only a piece survives, it offers a tantalizing glimpse into everyday elite life just before the Persian Wars reshaped Greek history. Attic vases from this era showcase masterful terracotta craftsmanship, often ...