A pyxis (Greek: πυξίς; pl.: pyxides) is a shape of vessel from the classical world, usually a cylindrical box with a separate lid and no handles. They were used to hold cosmetics, trinkets or jewellery, but were also used for dispensing incense and by physicians to contain medicine. Surviving pyxides are mostly Greek pottery, but could also be made from a range of other materials: wood, bronze, ivory, marble, terracotta, silver, or stone. The name derived from Corinthian boxes made of wood from the tree puksos ("boxwood"). During the Classical period, the Attic word "kylichnis" was also used to refer to the same shape. The shape of the vessel can be traced in pottery back to the Protogeometric period in Athens, however the Athenian pyxis has various shapes itself.
___Peleus_q.jpg)
>>>PUT SHARE BUTTONS HERE<<<
Pyxis (pottery) in the context of Red-figure
Red-figure pottery (Ancient Greek: ἐρυθρόμορφα, romanized: erythrómorpha) is a style of ancient Greek pottery in which the background of the pottery is painted black while the figures and details are left in the natural red or orange color of the clay.
It developed in Athens around 520 BC and remained in use until the late 3rd century AD. It replaced the previously dominant style of black-figure pottery within a few decades. Its modern name is based on the figural depictions in red color on a black background, in contrast to the preceding black-figure style with black figures on a red background. The most important areas of production, apart from Attica, were in Southern Italy. The style was also adopted in other parts of Greece. Etruria became an important center of production outside the Greek World.
Pyxis (pottery) in the context of Wedding Painter
Wedding Painter is the conventional name for an ancient Greek vase painter active in Athens from circa 480 to 460 BC. He painted in the red-figure technique. His name vase is a pyxis in the Louvre depicting the wedding of Thetis and Peleus.