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
2011.604.5.696a–f
Art Historical Context
These terracotta fragments hail from ancient Attic kylikes—shallow, stemmed drinking cups central to Greek symposia, lively social gatherings where wine flowed and ideas were debated. Crafted in Athens during the 6th 5th centuries BCE they bridge the Archaic and Classical periods, a golden age when Greek pottery reached extraordinary heights of technical skill and storytelling. Though incomplete, these pieces evoke the vibrant world of everyday elite life, mythology, and heroism often depicted on such vessels. Attic terracotta vases like these were fired in kilns to create iconic black-figure...