Oil flask (lekythos)

DescriptionPictured centrally on this red-figured lekythos is a grave stele on a stepped base with an acanthus-ornamented anthemion. A red ribbon or fillet is tied at the top of the stele’s shaft and a white one towards the bottom. To the left stands a young, beardless man draped in a black-bordered mantle, with a spear in his right hand; he turns slightly to face the stele. To the right, a woman with cropped hair and wearing a chiton approaches the monument. Her right hand is extended downwards, and her left is bent at the elbow. It is not evident that she holds a fillet or wreath, although it might have been painted in an added color after fading that has since faded.

ProvenanceBy 1893: with Mr. de Caix de Saint-Aymour in Paris (said to have been found in the island of Euboea, at Eretria); purchased from him by an Anonymous donor; Anonymous gift to MFA, March 1893