Pyxis with Four Horses on the Lid

This Pyxis, named because of the shape of the vessel, is held in the British Museum in London.The piece was made in Greece around 740BC. It was common during the Late Geometric period for artists to not sign their work, although this artist has now been given the name The Painter of London after where this piece is held. It is made of an orange buff clay with a brown and black paint, and is roughly 9 inches tall and 12 inches in diameter. 

First off, it is called the Geometric Period because the art made during this time was often formed out of various geometric shapes such as cylinders, cubes, and spheres. As time progressed into the Late Geometric period the subjects portrayed became a little more realistic in form. In this piece the basic shapes can been seen, the horses' legs and torsos are elongated cylinders and their heads still a bit more cube like. On top of that this piece shows a common characteristic of the Geometric Period called horror vacuii. Horror vacuii was the fear of having empty space. That is why this artwork is covered in patterns and drawings, and the horses were no exception. On this artwork we see mainly zig-zag, vertical, and diagonal lines to form patterns; along with four spoke wheels.

All in all, it is amazing to think that this is when the Greeks began to coalesce, make artwork and then progress so much that the Parthenon was created. 

Citation:

Trustees of the British Museum. www.britishmuseum.org. The British Museum, n/a. Web. 18 June 2013.