Terracotta fragment of a skyphos (deep drinking cup)
Unknown Artist
490–470 BCE
Medium
Terracotta
Classification
Vases
Culture & Period
Greek, Attic · Late Archaic/Early 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
2011.604.2.1508
Art Historical Context
This terracotta fragment from a skyphos—a deep, two-handled drinking cup popular in ancient Greek symposia—offers a glimpse into everyday life in Attic Greece around 490–470 BCE. Crafted during the Late Archaic to Early Classical period, it captures a pivotal transition in Greek art, bridging the rigid, patterned forms of the Archaic era with the emerging naturalism of the Classical age. Attic potters, masters of wheel-thrown terracotta, fired these vessels at high temperatures for durability, often decorating them with black-figure or red-figure techniques that highlighted mythological scenes...