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
2011.604.2.1425
Art Historical Context
This delicate terracotta fragment from a skyphos—a deep, two-handled drinking cup—offers a glimpse into the vibrant world of Classical Attic Greece during the second quarter of the5th century BCE.ed in the heart of Athens, the epicenter of Greek culture amid the Golden Age of Pericles, such vases were everyday luxuries used in symposia, intimate male drinking parties where philosophy, poetry, and politics flowed freely alongside wine. Attic pottery like this exemplifies the pinnacle of ancient ceramic artistry, transitioning from earlier black-figure to refined red-figure techniques that allo...