Terracotta fragments of closed shapes
Unknown Artist
6th/5th centuries BCE
Medium
Terracotta
Classification
Vases
Culture & Period
Greek, Attic · Archaic/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
2011.604.6.121a, b
Art Historical Context
These terracotta fragments from closed shapes, dating to the 6th/5th centuries BCE, offer a glimpse into the vibrant world of Attic Greek pottery during the Archaic and early Classical periods. Produced in Athens, the epicenter of ancient Greek ceramics, these pieces likely belonged to functional vases such as amphorae or oinochoai—vessels used for storing wine, oil, or water in households and symposia. Attic workshops were renowned for their technical mastery, wheel-throwing clay on fast-spinning potters' wheels and firing it in kilns to achieve durable, reddish-orange terracotta. Artistical...