Kottabos Player — Attic red-figure kylix attributed to the circle of the Kleophrades Painter

Form, technique and measurements

The object is a shallow terracotta kylix decorated in the red-figure technique, in which figures remain the color of the fired clay while the background is painted black. Measurements recorded in museum catalogues indicate an overall width with handles of about 25.5 cm and a height with handles of about 8.1 cm; the bowl's diameter is approximately 19.3 cm. The painted scene occupies the interior tondo, a position that allowed imagery to interact with the drinker as wine was consumed.

Imagery: the symposiast and the act of kottabos

The central figure is a symposiast, a participant in an elite male drinking party where conversation, music and ritualized play were combined. He is shown poised in the characteristic gesture of the game: tilting the cup and flinging the last drops of wine toward a distant lamp stand or small target. This pastime, known as kottabos, involved skill, licence and social signalling. Success could be rewarded with applause or playful prizes, and individual scenes can carry flirtatious or competitive undertones.

Function and social context

As a functional drinking vessel the kylix belonged to the material culture of the symposium, an institution central to male elite social life in Archaic and Classical Greece. The painted depiction offered conversation-starters and reinforced shared values, tastes and humour among participants. Artists frequently chose symposium scenes for kylikes because the image was revealed as the cup was emptied, creating a dynamic interplay between object and ritual.

Attribution, dating and stylistic notes

Scholarly attribution to the circle of the Kleophrades Painter rests on affinities in draughtsmanship, treatment of musculature and folds of garments, and recurring compositional devices that appear in signed or firmly attributed works. The dating near 500 BCE is supported by costume, technique and measured stylistic development in the corpus of Attic red-figure painting. Such attributions remain interpretive and are periodically revised as comparative scholarship advances.

Provenance and where to see it

The kylix is in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, where object records list its dimensions and provide basic catalogue information. Museum catalogues and specialist studies place this piece in conversation with similar examples, enabling researchers to compare costume, posture and painterly detail across groups of vases.

Significance and further study

Objects like this kylix are important sources for the study of daily life, leisure and performance in ancient Greece. They document ephemeral actions and games that otherwise survive only in literary references or archaeological finds. For comparative study, readers can consult museum entries and standard introductions to Greek vase painting for broader context on the development of red-figure technique and symposium iconography.

• Type: Attic red-figure kylix
• Attributed to: circle of the Kleophrades Painter
• Date: circa 500 BCE
• Measurements: height with handles ≈ 8.1 cm; width with handles ≈ 25.5 cm; bowl diameter ≈ 19.3 cm
• Location: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City

For concise definitions and entries on the people, objects and practices mentioned here see general reference works and museum catalogues; for focused study of the game itself, symposium culture and vase-painting workshops consult specialised publications and exhibition catalogues that treat kottabos, the symposium and the circle of the Kleophrades Painter in detail.