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Oil flask (lekythos)
Greek, South Italian
Late Classical Period
about 335–325 B.C.
Place of Manufacture: Italy, Apulia
Medium/Technique
Ceramic, Red Figure
Dimensions
17.8 cm (7 in.)
Credit Line
Museum purchase with funds donated by contribution
Accession Number89.262
NOT ON VIEW
CollectionsEurope, Ancient Greece and Rome
ClassificationsVessels
Catalogue Raisonné
Vase-Painting in Italy (MFA), no. 060.
DescriptionPrincipal design: Eros seated on rock, profile to left with a phiale full of offerings in his right hand. He wears shoes, earrings, a necklace, a beaded bandoleer, bracelets, and anklet, a beaded fillet, and a kekryphalos, all rendered with added white. A white mirror rests precariously on Eros' lap, and there are two rosettes floating in the field. His wings have broad white stripes and rows of white dots. On the back of the vase is a large palmette, with a scrolling palmette-tendrill on either side. There are rays on the lower neck and wave-pattern on the shoulder. A single reserved stripe cirlces the lower body. Yellow and white used extensively.
ITALIAN VASE PAINTING in ITALY, # 60 - (89.262)
Squat Lekythos
Attributed to the Menzies Group
about 335-325 B.C.
Eros is seated to the left on a yellow rock, a phiale full of offerings in his right hand and the left hand resting on the rock. He wears, shoes, earrings, a necklace, a beaded bandoleer, bracelets, an anklet, a beaded fillet, and a kekryphalos, all rendered with added white. A white mirror rests precariously on Eros's lap, and there are two rosettes floating in the field. His wings have broad white stripes and rows of white dots. White-dotted groundlines and small flowers mark the landscape.
On the back of the vase is a large palmette, with a scrolling palmette-gendril on either side. There are rays on the lower neck and wave-pattern on the shoulder. A single reserved stripe circles the lower body.
The Menzies Group, including the Menzies Painter, was a large group of minor painters who decorated a great variety of small shapes, perhaps in the workshop of the Ganymede Painter. Eros was a favorite subject.
ITALIAN VASE PAINTING in ITALY, # 60 - (89.262)
Squat Lekythos
Attributed to the Menzies Group
about 335-325 B.C.
Eros is seated to the left on a yellow rock, a phiale full of offerings in his right hand and the left hand resting on the rock. He wears, shoes, earrings, a necklace, a beaded bandoleer, bracelets, an anklet, a beaded fillet, and a kekryphalos, all rendered with added white. A white mirror rests precariously on Eros's lap, and there are two rosettes floating in the field. His wings have broad white stripes and rows of white dots. White-dotted groundlines and small flowers mark the landscape.
On the back of the vase is a large palmette, with a scrolling palmette-gendril on either side. There are rays on the lower neck and wave-pattern on the shoulder. A single reserved stripe circles the lower body.
The Menzies Group, including the Menzies Painter, was a large group of minor painters who decorated a great variety of small shapes, perhaps in the workshop of the Ganymede Painter. Eros was a favorite subject.
ProvenanceBy 1889: with Pio Marinangelli, Rome (said to be from Corato nelle Puglie or Ruvo); March 1889: purchased by R. Lanciani from Pio Marinangelli; purchased by MFA from R. Lanciani, 1889