3-047-557 - Heritage Art/Heritage Images

Funerary Lekythos, about 375 BC. Sculpted Vessel with a Young Woman. Additional Info: In the late 400s and early 300s BC, Greek grave monuments sometimes took the form of a large lekythos. The usual lekythos was a small terracotta vessel used to hold oil for funerary rituals, but the shape was monumentalized and translated into marble for use as a grave marker. Only a fragment of this marble lekythos survives. Originally, it had a cylindrical body resting on a small foot, and a tall neck rising from the body of the vessel. The unknown sculptor of this piece has depicted a woman shown in three-quarter view. She draws her cloak over her head in a gesture often associated with marriage. The mixing of bridal and funerary imagery is not unusual in ancient Greece. Both marriage and death were perceived as a sudden - perhaps frightening - transition to a new and strange place, and were accompanied by washing, ritual offerings and other similar acts.