lekythos (Jug)

Commonly used by the wealthier members of society in the 5th century B.C.E. as a grave offering to hold oil. Mostly found in Athens, Attica and Eretria.

After 470 B.C.E. the most popular theme found on white ground lekythoi were representations of visits to tombs. The imagery on this lekythos shows a youth visiting a tomb and is in the style of the "Achilles Painter" who worked in the period between 450 and 425 B.C.E., and was one of the great painters of white ground lekythoi.

White ground lekythos. White and black with single high handle (re-created from fragments, missing some pieces). The body is cylinder-shaped sitting on a thick black disc-shaped base. The shoulders slope inwards to a slender neck. The rim is flat. The black handle is attached to the rim and extends above the rim before curving downwards to attach to the shoulder. There is a brown figure visible on the body.