Clay pyxis

This narrative scene relates to the “epaulia”, a festival celebrated on the day after the nuptial ceremony, when relatives and friends visited the new bride in her home and brought her wedding gifts.

The decorative subject is in complete harmony with the shape of the vase: pyxides were vessels for the female toilet, containers for unguents, cosmetics and various personal items; they were probably also used for the safekeeping of pigments and pharmaceutical substances.