Cleveland Museum of Art

White-Ground Lekythos (Oil Vessel): Mourners at Tomb

Date

c. 400s BCE, with modern painting

Medium

ceramic

Culture

Greek, Attic

Department

Greek and Roman Art

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

In its basic shape and decorative scheme—three figures before a stepped tomb marker—this lekythos resembles hundreds of funerary vessels made in Athens during the fifth century (400s) BC. But unusual features of the painted decoration, including the multicolored palmettes on the shoulder, and the shoes worn by the youth, suggest a modern intervention. Zinc found in analysis of the white ground is also likely modern, although the vessel itself may be ancient. Both stylistic and technical studies suggest that this vase is not wholly ancient.

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