Praenestine Cista with Cover

Cylindrical boxes such as the one that inspired this one were probably made to contain women’s toilet articles and jewelry, and seem to have been popular during the Hellenistic period (between the fourth and first centuries B.C.) Excavated in 1864 at Palestrina, southeast of Rome, the site known in ancient times as Praeneste. A nude female acrobat forms the handle of the cover. We have stylized the cista, rendering it more appropriate aesthetically and more useful for modern day. The reproduction in terracotta with a hand applied ‘bronze’ finish, is handmade in the Marche region of Italy by Maestro Francesco Milanaccio.