Terracotta fragment of a skyphos (deep drinking cup)
Unknown Artist
440–420 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
2011.604.2.1899
Art Historical Context
This terracotta fragment from a skyphos, a deep two-handled drinking cup popular in ancient Greece, dates to the Classical period (440–420 BCE).ailing from Attic workshops near Athens—the epicenter of Greek artistic innovation—this piece reflects the height of the city's cultural and political golden age when democracy flourished and monumental works like the Parthen were built. Though only a fragment survives, it evokes the everyday elegance of Athenian pottery, crafted from fired clay and likely decorated with the red-figure technique, where figures were outlined in black slip against a rese...