Terracotta lekythos (oil flask)

Sabouroff Painter

ca. 450 BCE · Terracotta · Greek and Roman Art

Prothesis (laying out of the dead) The prothesis, a central part of funerary ritual, is represented in the Metropolitan Museum's collection as early as the mid-eighth century B.C. The essential elements—the deceased laid out on a bier, surrounded by members of the household and mourners—remained unchanged over centuries. In this depiction, there is obvious interest in differentiating the mourners and exploiting the contrast between the light background and the surfaces of opaque color.

Artist

Sabouroff Painter

Date

ca. 450 BCE

Medium

Terracotta

Culture

Greek, Attic

Department

Greek and Roman Art

Credit line

Rogers Fund, 1907