Terracotta fragment of a kylix (drinking cup)
Unknown Artist
late 6th century/early 5th century
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
2011.604.1.5962
Art Historical Context
This terracotta fragment from a kylix, a shallow drinking cup popular in ancient Greek symposia, hails from Attic Greece during the late Archaic period (late 6th to early 5th century). Produced in Athens, the heart of Greek pottery innovation, kylikes like this were essential for communal wine-drinking rituals among elite men, where conversation, poetry, and philosophy flowed as freely as the libations. Though only a fragment survives, it offers a tantalizing glimpse into everyday luxury crafted by skilled, unnamed potters and painters. Terracotta vases from this era showcase the Archaic Gree...