Terracotta pyxis (box)

Attributed to the Painter of London D 14

ca. 420–410 BCE

On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 159

The scene, rendered with extraordinary delicacy, shows women at home engaged in everyday pursuits: one folds a garment, another bends over to tie her sandal, a third walks with a casket and a glass alabastron (vase for perfumed oil), yet another plays with a pet quail. The names given to each of the figures are those of Nereids, daughters of the sea god Nereus, who are therefore usually associated with the deep. As so often, it is impossible to know whether the ladies are mortals with mythological names or Nereids shown in a domestic Athenian setting. The color and condition of the pyxis indicate that it was in a fire. The lid is so damaged that its decoration can no longer be discerned.

Artwork Details

Overview

Signatures, Inscriptions, and Markings

Provenance

References

Title: Terracotta pyxis (box)
Artist: Attributed to the Painter of London D 14
Period: Classical
Date: ca. 420–410 BCE
Culture: Greek, Attic
Medium: Terracotta; white-ground
Dimensions: total H. 4 13/16 in. (12.29 cm.); diameter of cover 4 9/16 in. (11.6 cm.)
Classification: Vases
Credit Line: Rogers Fund, 1940
Object Number: 40.11.2a, b
Curatorial Department: Greek and Roman Art

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