Terracotta fragment of a kylix (drinking cup)
Unknown Artist
520–500 BCE
Medium
Terracotta
Classification
Vases
Culture & Period
Greek, Attic · 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
2011.604.1.5152
Art Historical Context
This terracotta fragment from a kylix, a shallow drinking cup popular in ancient Greece around 520–500 BCE, offers a glimpse into the vibrant of Attic pottery during the late Archaic period. Crafted in Athens, the cultural and artistic hub of the Greek world, such vases were essential for symposia—lively social gatherings where elites reclined, drank wine, and debated philosophy or mythology. Though only a fragment survives, it exemplifies the exquisite terracotta vessels that defined Greek craftsmanship, fired in kilns and often adorned with painted scenes in the innovative black-figure or em...