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Lekythos (Oil Jar)

A work made of terracotta, white-ground.
CC0 Public Domain Designation

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  • A work made of terracotta, white-ground.

Date:

445-440 BCE

Artist:

Attributed to the Achilles Painter
Greek; Athens

About this artwork

Athenian cemeteries housed a variety of monuments and offerings to the dead. This terracotta vessel, called a lekythos, is one example that held oil. From the middle until the end of the fifth century B.C., they were usually decorated in a distinctive technique known as white ground, so called after the light slip coating on the body and shoulder of the vase. Atop this, figures were usually drawn in outline and then painted in rich colors, many of which have since faded. Since most of these bottles were made for burial with the dead or to be left at their graves, the scenes on their surfaces typically represent tombs, visitors to tombs, and farewell scenes.

Here two men, perhaps father and son, bid one another farewell. On the left, the young man departs, spear in hand, but he looks back toward an older man with a walking stick, who watches him go. The latter man’s hair and beard are white. He wears a russet-colored mantle that appears sheer, clearly revealing the contours of his body underneath.

Status

On View, Gallery 151

Department

Arts of the Ancient Mediterranean and Byzantium

Artist

Achilles Painter (Painter)

Title

Lekythos (Oil Jar)

Place

Athens (Object made in)

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

445 BCE–440 BCE

Medium

terracotta, white-ground

Dimensions

30.8 × 9.8 cm (12 1/8 × 3 7/8 in.); Diam.: 9.8 cm (3 7/8 in.)

Credit Line

Gift of Martin A. Ryerson through The Antiquarian Society

Reference Number

1907.20

IIIF Manifest  The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

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https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/111044/manifest.json

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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