Terracotta fragment of a kylix (drinking cup)
440–420 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
2011.604.1.7850
Art Historical Context
This terracotta fragment from a kylix, a shallow drinking cup popular in ancient Greek symposia, dates to the Classical period (440–420 BCE) and hails from Attic workshops in Greece. Attributed to the Calliope Painter or Eretria Painter—pseudonyms for anonymous masters of the Eretria Group—this piece exemplifies the red-figure technique. Here, figures were painted in glossy black slip on a clay ground, with details incised to reveal the fiery red body beneath after firing, allowing for intricate anatomical precision and dynamic poses. Kylixes like this were essential to elite social gathering...