This cylindrical pyxis with twin lifting handles stands near the end of a long ceramic tradition on Minoan Crete. It is remarkably well preserved except for its lid. While the painted decoration is not as fine as that of earlier works produced in the workshops of the Minoan palaces, the quality of potting and pyrotechnology reached a high point during this period. Expertly thrown with a hard, pale-colored fabric, it is a good example of the skill of the potters on Crete at the end of the Late Bronze Age.

The shape is a less common variation of the pyxis type, a characteristic Minoan vessel, which usually has a taller cylindrical body. The abstraction of the ornament, as well as the breaking of the main decorative zone into panels, suggests a date in the Late Minoan IIIB period rather than earlier. These artistic developments follow mainland Helladic pottery styles and are seen in many Minoan works from this time. The stylized snakes on the panels likely relate to the vessel's funerary function.