Terracotta fragments of an oinochoe: olpe (jug)
Unknown Artist
third quarter of the sixth century BCE
Medium
Terracotta
Classification
Vases
Culture & Period
Greek, Attic · Archaic
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
2011.604.3.769a–p
Art Historical Context
These delicate terracotta fragments come from an oinochoe, specifically an olpe—a graceful with a trefoil spout designed for pouring wine. Crafted in Attic Greece during the third quarter of the sixth century BCE (roughly 575–550 BCE), this piece belongs to the Archaic period, a time when Athens flourished as a hub of artistic innovation. Though incomplete, the fragments offer a glimpse into everyday luxury, evoking the lively symposia where such vessels played a starring role in social rituals. Attic terracotta vases like this one were masterpieces of black-figure pottery, a technique where ...