Art Institute of Chicago

Lekanis (Covered Dish)

Greek; Athens

Date

450-430 BCE

Medium

terracotta, black-glaze

Culture

Greece

Department

Arts of Greece, Rome, and Byzantium

Institution

Art Institute of Chicago

The shape of this lekanis—a low, lidded bowl resting on a broad foot with ribbon-like handles projecting from its sides—is typical, but its large size and lack of figural decoration are unusual. Frequently this type of vessel was decorated with marriage scenes, but this example is almost entirely covered with shiny black gloss, except for a horizontal band of vertical zigzags on the bowl and a band of rays at the base of the bowl and on the lid. Several thin, dark-red bands also encircle the vessel.

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