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
2011.604.5.834a, b
Art Historical Context
These terracotta fragments from kylikes—shallow drinking cups popular in ancient Greece—date to the 6th and 5th centuries BCE, spanning the Archaic and Classical periods. Crafted by an unknown Attic artist, they hail from Athens, the epicenter of Greek pottery production. Though incomplete, these shards offer a glimpse into the refined world of Attic vase-making, generously gifted to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 2011 by Dietrich von Bothmer, a renowned curator of Greek and Roman art. Attic kylikes were essential for symposia, elite social gatherings where men reclined, drank wine diluted...