Pyxis (box), ca. 465–460 b.c., white-ground
Attributed to the Penthesilea Painter (Attic vase painter, active ca. 460-ca. 440 b.c.)
Greek, Attic
Terracotta
Technical Glossary
Attributed to the Penthesilea Painter (Attic vase painter, active ca. 460-ca. 440 b.c.)
Greek, Attic
Terracotta
H. 4 3/4 in. (12.1 cm); H. with cover 6 3/4 in. (17.2 cm)
Rogers Fund, 1907 (07.286.36)
During the middle of the fifth century B.C., the white-ground technique was commonly used for lekythoi, oil flasks placed on graves, and for fine vases of other shapes. As classical painters sought to achieve ever more complex effects with the limited possibilities of red-figure, the white background gave new prominence to the glaze lines and polychromy. This pyxis reflects the delight with which an accomplished artist depicts a traditional subject, the Judgment of Paris.
