On view
Ancient Mediterranean Art
Pyxis (round box),
early 6th century BCE
Etruscan
Archaic Period, Etrusco-Corinthian Period, ca. 630–540 BCE, ca. 600–480 BCE
2006-9
Animal-shaped vessels and vessels with painted representations of animals were produced and used across the ancient Mediterranean. Their widespread creation attests to a shared impulse to incorporate animals and nature into the world of humans. These elaborate and intricate vessels were used for ceremonial banquets and religious rituals, or in funerary activities. At times, it was believed that the use of these vessels could almost animate the creatures represented, making them present and involved in the unfolding events. The incorporation of vessels rep- resenting animals at these moments both connected the human and animal worlds and asserted the differences between these disparate realms.
Information
Title
Pyxis (round box)
Dates
early 6th century BCE
Medium
Ceramic
Dimensions
h. 5.5 cm, diam. 13.1 cm (2 3/16 x 5 3/16 in.)
Credit Line
Museum purchase, gift of the Judy and Michael Steinhardt Foundation
Object Number
2006-9
Place Made
Europe, Italy, Etruria (central Italy)
Culture
Period
Subject
Purchased from Christie's, New York, 12/15/2005, lot 167. The seller was Walter Banko, of Montreal, who acquired it from Alfred Obrecht, a Swiss collector, who in turn acquired it from Joseph Müller, of Solothurn, Switzerland, in 1975.
