South Italian Pottery - Black Gloss Ware: Lidded Pyxis

Inv. No.: 95.039
Provenance: South Italy (Metaponto)
Date: 4th century BC
Height: 106 mm (122 mm with lid)
Diameter: 81mm
 
This small black pyxis or lebes gamikos has a straight-sided body with an ovoid base. The body meets the slightly concave flat shoulder at a sharp angle and it sits on a foot with a short flaring stem and a grooved disc base. The base has a raised ridge on its top, at the outer edge. The high vertical strap handles are set on the shoulder. There is a straight-sided rim around the central opening over which the lid is placed. The base of the lid has slightly convex sides and a flat top. In the centre is a tall knob set on a flaring stem. The knob is drop-shaped with a rounded base. The top is cut short and raised to a point. There is a groove between the base of the knob and the stem and another between the base of the stem and the top of the lid. The handles have been mended and the lid has fired red. Black does not completely cover the base of the foot.

Function:
A lidded container, perhaps used for cosmetic or funerary purposes.

Manufacture:
A wheel-thrown and turned vase with hand-made handles.

Decoration:
The shoulder is decorated with a pattern of stamped palmettes linked by arcs.

Comparanda:
Alexandrescu, P. and S. Dimitriu, Corpus Vasorum Antiquorum, Roumanie 2, Bucarest 2 (1968), Plate 34, 2 and 3 (very similar vase).

Breitenstein, N. and K. Friis Johansen, Corpus Vasorum Antiquorum, Danemark 7, Copenhague 7 (1955), IV, Plate 279, 5 (similar shape) and 6 (plainer version).

Ingen, W. van, Corpus Vasorum Antiquorum, USA 3, Michigan 1 (1933), III, IV, Plate XVIII, 35 (plainer version).

Mayence, F. and V. Verhoogen, Corpus Vasorum Antiquorum, Belgique 3, Bruxelles 3 (1949), IV E, Plate 3, 34 (very similar shape).

Mayer-Emmerling, S. and U. Vedder, Corpus Vasorum Antiquorum, Deutschland 66, Frankfurt am Main 4 (1994), Tafel 57, 11-12 (similar shape; Attic?).