Terracotta fragment of a plate?
Unknown Artist
second quarter of the 5th century 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
2011.604.2.2444
Art Historical Context
This delicate terracotta fragment, possibly from a plate, hails from Attic Greece in the second quarter of the 5 century BCE—the golden age of Classical Athens under Pericles. Produced in the renowned potters' workshops of Athens, it exemplifies the everyday artistry of ancient Greek vase-making, where terracotta vessels served both practical purposes and as canvases for storytelling. Though only a shard survives, it whispers of a vibrant world where pottery was wheel-thrown, fired in kilns, and often decorated with red-figure techniques that emerged around 530 BCE, allowing figures to stand o...