Terracotta fragment of a kylix (drinking cup)
Unknown Artist
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
2011.604.1.7419
Art Historical Context
This terracotta fragment from a kylix, a shallow drinking cup popular in ancient Greek symposia, dates to the Late Archaicarly Classical period (490–470 BCE).ed in Attica, the heart of Athenian pottery production, it exemplifies the refined ceramics that bridged the rigid formality of Archaic art with the emerging naturalism of the Classical era. These cups were essential for social gatherings where elite men reclined, drank wine mixed with water, and engaged in philosophical discourse, poetry, and games—rituals central to Greek cultural life. Attic potters mastered techniques like red-figure...