Container (kypsélē, kibōtós, lárnax) made from cedar wood decorated with ivory and gold plaques and carvings, described by Pausanias (5,17,5-19,10) as a votive gift from Cypselus [2] or the Cypselides in the temple of Hera in Olympia. Legend declared the chest to be the vessel in which Cypselus [2] was saved from the Bacchiadae as a child, or rather as its replica. It was probably manufactured in the mid 6th cent. BC.
Because of the description provided by Pausanias, the Cypselus chest is an important source for the exploration of archaic imagery. A…