Pixis; Mycenae, 13th century BC. Polychrome ceramic.

Pixis; Mycenae, 13th century BC.
Polychrome pottery.
Provenance: Private collection, Porto.
Measurements: 7.5 x 10 cm.
Mycenaean Pixis made of ceramic, decorated with two-tone concentric bands covering the body. It has a flattened ovoid belly, a low, flat, circular foot and a narrow neck that ends in a thick laburnum mouth. The pixis is a type of Greek pottery in the form of a box with a lid, used by women to contain cosmetics, jewellery and other objects. It is derived from the Corinthian box and originated in Athens in the Proto-Geometric period.
The present vessel has a simple geometric decoration on the outside, divided into bands and executed in reddish tones on a lighter background. The shape and decoration are typical of examples of Mycenaean culture, a pre-Hellenic civilisation of disputed chronology that dates to between around 1550 and 1100 BC and of which important remains have been found in various parts of Greece, most notably Knossos.