Detail of the Terracotta Pyxis by the Penthesilea Painter in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, July 2007

Terracotta pyxis (box)
Greek, Attic, white-ground, ca. 465-460 BC
Attributed to the Penthesilea Painter
The Judgment of Paris

Accession # 07.286.36

During the middle of the 5th century BC, the white-ground technique was commonly used for lekythoi, the oil flasks placed on graves, and for fine vases of other shapes. As classical painters sought to achieve ever more complex effects with the limited possibilities of red-figure, the white background gave new prominence to the glaze lines and polychromy. This pyxis reflects the delight which an accomplished artist depicted traditional subjects.

Text from the Metropolitan Museum of Art label.