Art Institute of Chicago

Squat Lekythos (Oil Jar)

Greek; Elis

Date

430-410 BCE

Medium

terracotta, black-glaze with impressed decoration

Culture

Greece

Department

Arts of Greece, Rome, and Byzantium

Institution

Art Institute of Chicago

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. Although black-glazed wares can be rather coarse, this example is quite fine. Regardless, they would have been less expensive than vessels decorated in other contemporary techniques, for example, in red-figure.

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