Winchester College possesses the lekythos below. Watch this short video to learn about the object. Beneath the video I give a more complete description of it, including its decoration, and an overview of Athenian white-ground vases, including their usage and fabrication.
The above lekythos, or oil flask, was made in c. 430 B.C., and can be viewed in the Treasury at Winchester College. It originates from Eritrea, and was in the Collections of Winchester College by 1909. It depicts scenes of mourning.
The lekythos is made from terracotta, painted with an elaborate design. On the left is a mourning woman, carrying a basket with a strip of red cloth draping out of it. She clearly intends to decorate the stele in the middle of the design, already draped with red and green bands of cloth, alongside sprigs of acanthus and wreaths. The youth on the right is holding a wreath himself. The flask in 38.6 centimetres tall, and has a diameter of 11.1 centimetres.
The woman is wearing a chiton, a form of Greek tunic, and a himation, a shawl. The youth is also wearing a himation. The woman's hair is in a krobylos: it has been twisted and bound under her tainia, headband.
White-ground vases are associated with funerals and other rituals, because of their decoration. To make the white ground, the body of the vase was covered with kaolin, a white clay. Unlike on red- and black-figure vases, the decoration was added after the firing of the vessel, making it more susceptible to damage from everyday usage. They were therefore ideally suited to being used as grave offerings. The scenes depicted on them were often relevant to their usage. The decoration on this vase has been worn and faded, but clearly shows mourning.
Winchester College – Collections: winchestercollections.co.uk/collection/lekythos-7
Winchester College Treasury: treasury.winchestercollege.org
Winchester College Treasury – Classical Collection: treasury.winchestercollege.org/new-design/pages/treasury/treasury---classical-collection
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