Terracotta fragment of a kylix (drinking cup)
500–480 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
2011.604.1.7215
Art Historical Context
This exquisite terracotta fragment from a kylix, or shallow drinking cup, comes from the workshop of Makron, one of the most prolific and skilled Attic vase painters of late Archaic Greece (500–480 BCE). Makron, active in Athens during a pivotal era bridging the Archaic and Classical periods, in the red-figure technique—a revolutionary method where artists painted outlines on fired black-gloss clay, leaving figures in the natural red terracotta hue for intricate details added with fine lines and dilute slip. Kylikes like this were essential to ancient Greek symposia, elite male drinking parti...
About the Artist
Makron
Makron stands as one of the most prolific masters of Attic red-figure vase painting, active in Athens around 490–480 BC during the late Archaic to early Classical transition.) Little is known of his early life or formal training, as such details remain undocumented for many ancient potters and painters of this era. Exclusively employing the red-figure technique—which allowed for intricate detailin...