Terracotta rim fragment of a kylix (drinking cup)
Unknown Artist
520–510 BCE
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
2011.604.1.8165
Art Historical Context
This delicate terracotta rim fragment from kylix, a shallow drinking cup popular in ancient Greece, dates to 520–510 BCE during the Archaic period. Crafted in Attica—the heart of Athenian pottery production—this piece hails from a time when Greek artisans mastered terracotta vase-making, firing clay at high temperatures to create durable, elegantly shaped vessels. Though only a fragment survives, it evokes the symposia, lively drinking parties where intellectuals, poets, and elites gathered, using kylikes to sip wine mixed with water. Attic pottery like this was not just functional but a canv...