Terracotta fragment of a kylix (drinking cup)
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
2011.604.1.5655
Art Historical Context
Behold this exquisite terracotta fragment from a kylix, or drinking cup, crafted by the renowned Attic vase-painter Onesimos around 490–480 BCE. Housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Greek and Roman Art Department, this piece—graciously gifted by distinguished curator Dietrich von Bothmer in 2011—offers a tantalizing glimpse into Late Archaic Greek artistry. Kylikes like this were essential to symposia, the lively social gatherings where elite men reclined, drank wine, and debated philosophy or reveled in poetry. Onesimos, a master of the red-figure technique, revolutionized vase paintin...