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Pyxis lid sherd

Not On View
Meidias Painter, circle of (possibly)
Greek
Place made: 
Europe; Greece; Athens; (probably)
Pyxis lid sherd, Archaic Period or Classical Period; 530-320 BCE
Ceramic; earthenware (red-figure ware)
Overall: 2 in x 2 in; 5.1 cm x 5.1 cm
Louise Fitz Randolph Collection (possibly)
MH 1943.19.B.AIV

In classical Greece, ceramics like this would have been luxury items. This fragment likely comes from the lid of a pyxis, a covered container used by women to hold small objects and toiletries. The decoration is an example of red-figure pottery, a popular technique that originated in Greece around 530 BCE. The technique allowed for greater detail which can be seen in the fine features and delicate hair style of the woman on this sherd. This is likely the work of a member of the Meidian circle, a school of skilled
painters who are known today for depictions of elegant women and mythological scenes.