Terracotta pyxis (box)

Attributed to the Wedding Painter
ca. 460–450 BCE
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 159
Birth of Aphrodite

On this pyxis, women, who normally sit rather languidly with their caskets and perfume flasks, are galvanized into activity. The occasion is the birth—perhaps rather the advent—of Aphrodite. The goddess appears as a sprightly little girl being grasped by a comparatively mature Eros. Like Athena, Aphrodite was born fully dressed and ready for action.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Terracotta pyxis (box)
  • Artist: Attributed to the Wedding Painter
  • Period: Classical
  • Date: ca. 460–450 BCE
  • Culture: Greek, Attic
  • Medium: Terracotta; red-figure
  • Dimensions: H. with cover 4 5/8 in. (11.8 cm); H. without cover 3 3/8 in. (8.5 cm); greatest diameter of body 4 15/16 in. (12.5 cm)
  • Classification: Vases
  • Credit Line: Fletcher Fund, 1939
  • Object Number: 39.11.8a, b
  • Curatorial Department: Greek and Roman Art

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Attributed to the Wedding Painter - Terracotta pyxis (box) - Greek, Attic - Classical - The Metropolitan Museum of Art