Terracotta fragment from a pyxis lid (box)
Unknown Artist
late 6th century 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
2011.604.2.1141
Art Historical Context
This delicate terracotta fragment from the lid of a pyxis—a small lidded box used by ancient Greek women to store cosmetics jewelry, and trinkets—offers a glimpse into daily life in Archaic Attica around the late 6th BCE. Crafted in the vibrant pottery workshops of Athens, pyxides like this one were prized personal items, often elaborately painted with scenes from mythology, daily activities, or floral motifs. As a product of the Archaic period, it bridges the robust black-figure technique—where figures were outlined in black slip and details incised to reveal the red clay beneath—with the eme...