Art Institute of Chicago

Lekythos (Oil Jar)

Greek; Athens

Date

about 440 BCE

Medium

terracotta, white-ground

Culture

Athens

Department

Arts of Greece, Rome, and Byzantium

Institution

Art Institute of Chicago

Athenian cemeteries housed a variety of monuments and offerings to the dead. This terracotta vessel, called a lekythos, is one example that held oil. From the middle until the end of the fifth century B.C., they were usually decorated in a distinctive technique known as white ground, so called after the light slip coating on the body and shoulder of the vase. Atop this, figures were usually drawn in outline and then painted in rich colors, many of which have since faded. Since most of these bottles were made for burial with the dead or to be left at their graves, the scenes on their surfaces typically represent tombs, visitors to tombs, and farewell scenes. A woman drawn in outline stands beside an empty chair. Presumably it references the absence of a loved one. A basket sits on the ground behind her. There are no remains of color. Unrelated to the scene but of interest in its own right is the inscription extending before the woman. It states that a youth by the name of Euaion is handsome. The subject of this praise is probably the son of the great Athenian dramatist Aeschylus (525–456 BC). Like his father, Euaion became a tragedian.

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