Getty Museum

Corinthian Round-Bodied Pyxis

Creator

Painter

Artist

The Chimaera Painter worked in Corinth, decorating vases in the black-figure technique in the period from about 600 to 575 B.C. He specialized in the decoration of plates and bowls but also worked on the occasional pyxis. The Chimaera Painter was the chief vase-painter of a larger group of artists called the Chimaera Group, over which he was very influential. Significantly, scholars can trace the

More on Getty ULAN

Date: about 570 B.C.
Medium: Terracotta
Culture: Greek (Corinthian)
Department: Vessels
Institution: Getty Museum

An animal frieze encircles the body of this Corinthian black-figure pyxis. Real and mythological creatures, including lions, a goat, a bull, and a bearded siren, make up the decoration. Their stylized, sharply outlined bodies rhythmically balance against one another. Rosettes fill the spaces around the animals. Above this, a lotus and palmette chain decorates the shoulder of the vessel. In place of handles, the potter has added mold-made female heads. The pyxis was a container for perfumed oils and cosmetics. Beginning around 575 B.C., Corinthian potters occasionally added mold-made heads to these vessels. By the early 500s B.C., Corinthian pottery dominated the market for figure-decorated vessels and was widely exported throughout the Mediterranean.

View at Getty Museum ↗

The authoritative record is held by Getty Museum. LinkedCulture surfaces this object and its connections; it does not alter institutional metadata.

Get printable QR codes

Open QR codes for this object page and the museum record. They stay collapsed until needed.

Open this page

See at Getty Museum

Related across collections

Semantically similar works from Getty Museum and other institutions.