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
2011.604.1.6147
Art Historical Context
This terracotta fragment from a kylix, a shallow drinking cup popular in ancient Greece, dates to the late Archaic period (520–500 BCE) hails from Attic workshops in Athens. Kylikes like this were essential for symposia—ively social gatherings where elite men reclined, drank wine mixed with water, and engaged in intellectual discourse, poetry, and entertainment. Though only a fragment survives, it exemplifies the refined pottery production that made Attic vases a cornerstone of Greek art, often exported across the Mediterranean. Crafted from terracotta, the medium allowed for intricate painte...