Pyxis Mp3 Download
Maryetta Worm
The Judgement of Paris
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. The decoration of this pyxis reflects the delight with which an accomplished artist like the Penthesilea Painter depicted a traditional subject.
This pyxis (box) was fashioned in imitation of Phoenician luxury goods imported from the Near East. Although it incorporates many Near Eastern elements in its decoration, including sphinxes, a lotus plant, and chariots, the style of the figures shows it is clearly the product of a local Etruscan workshop. The handle of the lid takes the form of a standing sphinx wearing a lotus crown.
This cylindrical incised ware pyxis is made from a gritty, brownish-gray clay. It is thick-walled with a flat bottom, vertical sides, and a slightly domed lid (1). It has two vertical small lugs, pierced vertically, that were probably threaded with a string or cord. Sixteen vertical incised lines divide the surface of the body into vertical zones of unequal width. Within each zone diagonal lines are incised; the angle of the lines is consistent within each zone, but alternates between zones to create an overall zigzag pattern around the body of the vessel (2). This design pattern is called "herringbone" (3).
It is likely that this pyxis was used as an offering in a tomb. In general, pottery found in tombs tends to be more decorated and to be confined to a more limited range of shapes than settlement pottery, that is, pottery found in the areas where people resided, lived, and worked. Some shapes are, in fact, rarely found outside of graves, including cylindrical pyxides like this one (5). What is more, vessels are are less well-made and poorly fired, such as this one, are more likely to have been made for a funerary use, as they did not need to stand up to daily wear-and-tear (6). This pot, then, seems to meet most of the requirements to be identified as a funerary offering: it is highly decorated, but not as well-made as an everyday vessel.
A pyxis is a cylindrical box used for cosmetics. Now, imagine a room in a palace where this beautifully carved ivory container is given a central place. The luxurious box sits open. Inside are small silver containers of perfume, also left open so that their sweet-smelling aromas could waft through the room, gently scenting the air. This particular pyxis was a gift to the then-eighteen-year-old al-Mughira, the son of a caliph, perhaps as a coming-of-age present.
Remember, Islamic art is not strictly speaking aniconic (the absence of human figures). Human and animal figures played a vital part in iconography. We see them here in this pyxis, which some scholars (including those at the Louvre), have interpreted as expressing the political authority and legitimacy of Umayyad Caliphs (as opposed to the Abbasid Caliphs, who ruled in Baghdad).
The iconography may have had a further specific message to al-Mughira. After the death of his brother, al-Hakam II, al-Mughira may have been a threat to Hisham II and he was executed (along with his supporters). While al-Mughira met an unfortunate end, the beauty of his pyxis ensured its survival.
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