Terracotta pyxis (box) 440 BC

Curator: What we have here is a terracotta pyxis, or box, created around 440 BC. Editor: It's smaller than I expected. Somehow the black and ochre immediately create an atmosphere of ceremony, yet the depiction has this relaxed feel. Curator: That contrast you’re picking up is wonderful. These boxes weren't about grand pronouncements; they were for holding personal items – jewelry, cosmetics – everyday objects, but for ritual or special occasion, crafted with exceptional skill. Editor: Look how controlled the forms are. Did they just pull clay from the earth, refine it, fire it? The labour involved— it's mind-boggling to think of the whole production chain behind this object! What kind of paints did they use? And who made them? Curator: Yes, that's something. Now, notice how the artist has rendered figures on its surface – a woman elegantly draped, attending to a chariot scene. It's miniature theatre. This artist is doing a lot. Editor: It also speaks to a world where humans had intimate connections to their material environment. It wasn't simply "art", but a useful crafted thing made from earthly material that connected lived realities and ritualized events to these bigger visual stories. Do you think this was for somebody important? Curator: Perhaps of middling importance! Mass produced this object was not. The labor certainly indicates it held value. And it lets my mind wonder and think about the narratives someone needed this to participate in... perhaps to invent. Editor: You can almost hear the turning of the pottery wheel and the scratching of the stylus decorating the box. Curator: Yes, it truly invites you in to contemplate our deep long relationship with art and material! A compelling story this object tells.