Terracotta fragment of a skyphos (deep drinking cup)
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
2011.604.2.1296
Art Historical Context
This terracotta fragment from a skyphos—a deep, two-handled drinking cup—offers a glimpse into everyday life in Classical Athens during the second quarter the 5th century. Crafted in Attic Greece at the height of the city's golden age, when democracy flourished and the Parthenon rose on the Acropolis, such vessels were essential for symposia: lively social gatherings where men reclined, drank wine mixed with water, and engaged in philosophy, poetry, and politics. Attic potters were masters of terracotta, firing clay at high temperatures to create durable, elegantly shaped wares often adorned ...