Marble funerary lekythos of Kallisthenes

Unknown

ca. 400–390 BCE · Marble, Pentelic · Greek and Roman Art

During the fifth and fourth centuries B.C., memorials to the dead sometimes took the form of monumental marble lekythoi. The shape was appropriate, for the lekythos–a vase used exclusively to hold oil–played an important part in funerary preparation and ritual. The figure of Kallisthenes, whose name is inscribed, is shown in low relief clasping the hand of a seated man, while a woman raises her hand to her chin in a customary gesture of mourning.

Artist

Unknown

Date

ca. 400–390 BCE

Medium

Marble, Pentelic

Culture

Greek, Attic

Department

Greek and Roman Art

Credit line

Rogers Fund, 1947