White-ground tripod pyxis

This Attic tripod pyxis, from which the lid is now lost, is attributed to the artist conventionally named the Painter of London D12. Depicted upon a white ground is a seated woman dressed in a multi-pleated chiton and covered by a red himation. Advancing towards her are three standing himation-clad females, holding objects (vases), which they offer to her. The closed double door and the Doric column denote the women's quarters of a house. This narrative scene relates to the "epaulia", a festival celebrated on the day after the nuptial ceremony, when relatives and friends visited the new bride in her home and brought her wedding gifts. The decorative subject is in complete harmony with the shape of the vase: pyxides were vessels for the female toilet, containers for unguents, cosmetics and various personal items; they were probably also used for the safekeeping of pigments and pharmaceutical substances.