Terracotta lekythos (oil flask)
Libation at warrior's departure
From the end of the sixth century B.C., the lekythos served as a funerary vase to contain offerings of oil for the dead. During the second quarter of the fifth century, white-ground lekythoi, on which the decoration was painted over a white slip, became the typical funerary vase. While the subject here is the libation at the departure of a warrior, the shape suggests that the warrior did not return alive and that this vase was placed on his grave.
From the end of the sixth century B.C., the lekythos served as a funerary vase to contain offerings of oil for the dead. During the second quarter of the fifth century, white-ground lekythoi, on which the decoration was painted over a white slip, became the typical funerary vase. While the subject here is the libation at the departure of a warrior, the shape suggests that the warrior did not return alive and that this vase was placed on his grave.
Artwork Details
- Title: Terracotta lekythos (oil flask)
- Artist: Attributed to an artist near the Villa Giulia Painter
- Period: Classical
- Date: ca. 460 BCE
- Culture: Greek, Attic
- Medium: Terracotta; white-ground
- Dimensions: H. 14 3/4 in. (37.5 cm)
- Classification: Vases
- Credit Line: Rogers Fund, 1906
- Object Number: 06.1021.134
- Curatorial Department: Greek and Roman Art
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Villa Giulia Painter
ca. 460 BCE
Villa Giulia Painter
ca. 460–450 BCE
Villa Giulia Painter
ca. 460–450 BCE
Villa Giulia Painter
ca. 460–450 BCE
Villa Giulia Painter
ca. 450 BCE
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