Spherical Pyxis with Pedestal Foot of the Syros Type (3/4 left back from above)

The type of storage container known as a pyxis (box) was produced in a variety of shapes. Like other Cycladic vessels, they were made in both terracotta and marble. The footed pyxis here, a type found on the island of Syros, may have developed out of the earlier kandila form—a globular storage jar with a collared neck and a tall, cylindrical foot. This particular vase, however, originally had a lid. Six pierced lugs, one of which is now broken, originally held cords for securing the lid and for suspending the vessel. Four extend from the vessel’s shoulder, while two larger lugs decorated with incised lines project from the body below. As the potter's wheel was not yet in use in this period, this terracotta vase was shaped by hand from coils or slabs of clay and fired in a kiln. The surface was polished with a smooth stone or leather, to make the clay less porous for holding liquid. Serving a variety of practical daily functions, many of these utilitarian vases also accompanied the deceased in graves.