Terracotta rim fragment of a kylix (drinking cup)
Unknown Artist
late 6th century/early 5th century
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
2011.604.1.5976
Art Historical Context
This delicate terracotta rim fragment from a kylix, a wide, shallow drinking cup popular in ancient Greece, hails from Attic workshops in the late Archaic period (late 6th to early 5th century BCE). Kylikes were essential for symposia—lively social gatherings where men reclined, drank wine mixed with water, and engaged in philosophical debates or poetry. Though only a portion of the rim survives, it offers a tantalizing glimpse into everyday luxury items crafted by skilled potters in Athens, the heart of Greek ceramic innovation. Attic vases like this one were not mere vessels but canvases fo...