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Lekythos (Oil Jar)

A work made of terracotta, black-glaze.
CC0 Public Domain Designation

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  • A work made of terracotta, black-glaze.

Date:

about 400 BCE

Artist:

Greek; possibly Campania, Italy

About this artwork

During the course of the 5th and 4th centuries B.C., black vessels (commonly called black-glaze vessels) were made with increasing frequency in both Greece and South Italy. Many of them replicate the shape of metal vessels. Others have detailing that is molded or incised. While the quality of these vessels varies greatly, all would have been less expensive than vessels decorated in other contemporary techniques, for example, in red-figure.

Status

On View, Gallery 151

Department

Arts of the Ancient Mediterranean and Byzantium

Culture

Ancient Greek

Title

Lekythos (Oil Jar)

Place

Ancient Greece (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.

400 BCE

Medium

terracotta, black-glaze

Dimensions

24.1 × 11.1 × 11.1 cm (9 1/2 × 4 3/8 × 4 3/8 in.)

Credit Line

Museum Purchase Fund

Reference Number

1889.257

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.

Learn more.

https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/317/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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