Spool Pyxis with Lid

Cosmetics, jewelry, and pigments were held in a diminutive container known as a pyxis (box), which was produced in a variety of shapes. Like other Cycladic vessels, they were made in both terracotta and marble. This marble example is in the shape of a cylindrical spool with a broad projecting lid and base (see the body and lid). Incised lines decorate the walls. The base is pierced with four holes that may have been threaded with string to keep the container closed. Serving a variety of practical daily functions, many of these utilitarian vases also accompanied the deceased in graves.

The production of stone vases was an important and characteristic industry of the Cyclades, and it was only on those islands that white marble was used as a primary material for such vessels. Marble vases like this one were laboriously carved with blades of obsidian, a volcanic glass, and abrasives such as sand, emery, and pumice. The sculptors who carved the Cycladic marble figures—perhaps the most distinctive product of the Cycladic culture—probably also made the stone vases.