Getty Museum

Funerary Lekythos

Date

about 375 B.C.

Medium

Marble with polychromy

Culture

Greek (Attic)

Department

Sculpture

Institution

Getty Museum

In the late 400s and early 300s B.C., Greek grave monuments sometimes took the form of a large *lekythos.* The usual *lekythos* was a small terracotta vessel used to hold oil for funerary rituals, but the shape was monumentalized and translated into marble for use as a grave marker. Only a fragment of this marble *lekythos* survives. Originally, it had a cylindrical body resting on a small foot, and a tall neck rising from the body of the vessel. Marble grave *lekythoi* were usually decorated with a scene carved in relief on the body of the vessel. The unknown sculptor of this piece has depicted a woman shown in three-quarter view. She draws her cloak over her head in a gesture often associated with marriage. The mixing of bridal and funerary imagery is not unusual in ancient Greece. Both marriage and death were perceived as a sudden - perhaps frightening - transition to a new and strange place, and were accompanied by washing, ritual offerings and other similar acts. Traces of a painted pattern are still visible on the shoulder of the *lekythos.* Parts of the carved relief may also have been accentuated with paint.

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