Pyxis (vessel)

Cylindrical box from the classical world

A pyxis (Greek: πυξίς; : pyxides) is a shape of vessel from the classical world, usually a cylindrical box with a separate lid. They were used to hold cosmetics, trinkets or jewellery, but were also used for dispensing incense and by physicians to contain medicine. Surviving pyxides are mostly Greek pottery, but could also be made from a range of other materials: wood, bronze, ivory, marble, silver, or stone. The name derived from Corinthian boxes made of wood from the tree puksos ("boxwood"). During the Classical period, the Attic word "kylichnis" was also used to refer to the same shape. The shape of the vessel can be traced in pottery back to the Protogeometric period in Athens, however the Athenian pyxis has various shapes itself.

There were many different varieties of pyxis, popular in different times and places. The earliest were the Protogeometric type of vessel which had a globular body, and the pointed bottom pyxis from the early Geometric period. The pointed pyxis didn't last much longer than the ninth century BCE. During the later Geometric period another style emerged with a flat, very broad base. Contemporary scholarship classifies pyxides as either: type A, type B, type C, type D, lekanis, Nikosthenic, or tripod.

This type was introduced by Nikosthenes during the late sixth century BCE. It is characterised by a deep, calyx shaped bowl with a flanged rim and a stemmed foot, and a domed lid. The decorations on pyxides found in an Etruscan context tend towards depictions of battles and athletic contests; for pyxides found in Greek and near eastern Mediterranean settings the depictions tend to be of marriage, childbirth, or religious processions. Evidence suggests that this was a popular type on the eastern Aegean island of Samos and in Etruria between 560–500 BCE.