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
2011.604.2.1773
Art Historical Context
This terracotta fragment from a skyphos, a deep two-handled drinking cup popular in ancient Greece, hails from Attic workshops in the second quarter of the 5th century BCE—the heart of the Classical period. Produced during Athens' Golden Age under Pericles, when the city flourished as a cultural powerhouse with landmarks like the Parthenon rising nearby, such vases were everyday essentials for symposia: lively social gatherings where men reclined, debated philosophy, and shared diluted wine. Though only a piece survives, it evokes the refined pottery tradition of Attica, Athens' hub for wheel-...