Terracotta fragment of a kylix (drinking cup)
490–470 BCE
Medium
Terracotta
Classification
Vases
Culture & Period
Greek, Attic · Late Archaic/Early Classical
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
2011.604.1.6634
Art Historical Context
This exquisite terracotta fragment from a kylix, or shallow drinking cup, dates to 490–470 BCE and hails from the workshop of the Brygos Painter one of ancient Athens' most dynamic red-figure vase painters. Active during the Late Archaic to Early Classical transition, thegos Painter was renowned for his lively, figures—often warriors, revelers, or mythological scenes—rendered with fluid lines and a sense of movement that bridged the rigid Archaic style and the emerging Classical grace. Kylixes like this were central to the Greek symposium, elite male drinking parties where poetry, philosophy,...
About the Artist
Brygos Painter
The Brygos Painter is one of the most gifted and prolific red-figure vase painters of ancient Athens, active in the early fifth century BCE during one of the most dynamic periods of Greek artistic development. Like most ancient Greek vase painters, he is known to us not by his personal name but by a conventional scholarly designation — in this case derived from the potter Brygos, whose name appear...