Terracotta fragment of a kylix (drinking cup)
Unknown Artist
460–450 BCE
Medium
Terracotta
Classification
Vases
Culture & Period
Greek, Attic · 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
2011.604.1.7481
Art Historical Context
This delicate terracotta fragment from a kylix, or shallow drinking cup, hails from Classical Athens around 460–450 BCE, a golden age of Greek art and democracy. Produced in Attica, the heartland of ancient pottery-making, such vessels were essential for symposia—lively social gatherings where elite men reclined, drank wine, and debated philosophy. Though only a piece survives, it evokes the refined elegance of everyday luxury in the Periclean era. Attic terracotta vases like this represent the peak of red-figure technique, where artists painted black gloss slip around figures, leaving the na...