Lekythos

Attica, Greece, 520–510 BCE

Ochre body, black-figure painting, engraved details.

H: 27.4 cm

UMP 8404

Purchased in 1906.

This lekythos has been produced from ochre-coloured ceramic clay and decorated in the black-figure style. Decorative details are engraved in the black reflet. The painting is attributed to the Phanyllis Group B, Group of the Arming Lekythoi. The main decorative section presents a figurative scene – at the centre is a female figure in a chiton and shawl, flanked by two warriors in armour wearing short chitons and greaves, with helmets on their heads, bearing swords at their waists, spears and shields. Behind them, figures in long chitons and chlaina, leaning on spears. The composition is complemented by stylised foliage. The shoulder of the lekythos is decorated with an ornamental band of stylised lotus buds with interwoven stems and a ring of sunrays below the neck.