Terracotta fragments of kylikes (drinking cups)
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
2011.604.5.740a–d
Art Historical Context
These terracotta fragments from kylikes—shallow, stemless drinking cups—offer a glimpse into the vibrant of ancient Attic Greece during the Archaic and Classical periods (6th–5th centuries BCE).ed in the renowned Attic workshops, these pieces belong to a tradition of wheel-thrown pottery, often decorated with black-figure or red-figure techniques that showcased mythological scenes, daily life, and athletic pursuits. Though incomplete, they evoke the symposia, or elite drinking parties, where such vessels were central to social rituals, fostering conversation, poetry, and philosophical exchange...