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A work made of terracotta, red-figure.

Pyxis (Container for Personal Objects)

430-420 BCE

Greek; Athens

Athens

Nine women are depicted in the figured scene that runs right around the vase. The women are presumably in the gynaikeion or women's quarters, and include a seated woman with a book roll, a woman holding wreath, a woman with a mirror, a woman with an alabastron, a woman with a sash, a woman with a lyre, a woman with a mirror, a girl standing stiff and straight to the right, who might be the bride-to-be, and a woman with an alabastron.

Vessels of this type were probably used to hold personal effects like cosmetics, jewelry, or other trinkets and were often given as wedding gifts.

terracotta, red-figure

Arts of Greece, Rome, and Byzantium