Image

Terracotta black vase with a narrow fluted neck and thick foot. It’s decorated with orange illustrations of a figure in a boat facing another standing figure, divided by reeds.
Close-up of the vase’s cream body. Visible are red illustrations of a man in a boat besides a cluster of reeds, holding a tall reed himself, bordered by golden stripes.
Tall terracotta vase, with a black fluted neck, wide mouth, thick base and handle. Its white body features fragmented illustrations rendered in red of a man facing reeds.
Terracotta vase with a fluted neck, wide mouth, thick foot and handle painted black, with a worn white body. Visible are remnants of yellow decorative patterns and illustrations.
Terracotta vase with a fluted neck, wide mouth, thick foot and handle painted black, with a worn white body. Visible are remnants of yellow decorative patterns and illustrations.
Close-up of the vase’s cream body. Visible are red illustrations of a man holding a small object standing besides a cluster of reeds, bordered by golden stripes.
Monochromatic image of a vase with a narrow fluted neck and thick foot. It’s decorated with illustrations of a figure in a boat facing another standing figure, divided by reeds.
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Reed Painter

Oil Flask (Lekythos)
Now On View

Description

Maker

Reed Painter (Greek, 420 -400 BCE)

Culture

Greek

Title

Oil Flask (Lekythos)

Period

Classical

Year

420-400 BCE

Medium

Materials/Techniques

Techniques

Materials

clay

Geography

Place Made: Attica

Dimensions

Height: 23.8 cm (9 3/8 inches)

Credit / Object Number

Credit

Museum Appropriation Fund

Object Number

25.082

Type

Exhibition History

Exhibition History

Ancient Greek and Roman Galleries
Sep 22, 2010

Label copy

Oil flasks (lekythoi) were common household objects used daily in cooking and bathing. They were also routinely filled with oil and buried in tombs and left as gifts to the dead. In the early 5th century BCE, a type of lekythos, the white-ground, developed specifically as a vessel destined for the grave. The term “white-ground” refers to the creamy, off-white backgrounds on which funerary scenes were painted. The scene of the ferryman Charon waiting to transport the deceased woman across the river Styx on this lekytho confirms the vessel’s intended function as a grave gift. The quiet, calm demeanors of the figures reflect the Greek classical ideals of dignity and restraint.

To Bid Farewell
Images of Death in the Ancient World
Apr 03, 1987 – Jun 07, 1987

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This object is in the Public Domain and available under a CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication

Tombstone

Reed Painter (Greek, 420 -400 BCE)
Oil Flask (Lekythos), 420-400 BCE
Terracotta; white-ground
Height: 23.8 cm (9 3/8 inches)
Museum Appropriation Fund 25.082

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