Terracotta lekythos (oil flask)

Villa Giulia Painter

ca. 460 BCE · Terracotta · Greek and Roman Art

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.

Artist

Villa Giulia Painter

Date

ca. 460 BCE

Medium

Terracotta

Culture

Greek, Attic

Department

Greek and Roman Art

Credit line

Rogers Fund, 1906