Attic White-Ground Lekythos (Oil Bottle) with Head of a Satyr

Late Archaic-Classical
First quarter of 5th century BCE

4 3/16 x 2 1/8 x 2 1/8 in. (10.6 x 5.4 x 5.4 cm)

This object has the following keywords:

• Attic - Style and culture of the region of Attica. For culture particular to the capital of Attica, Athens, use "Athenian."
• lekythoi - Ancient Greek one-handled, usually tall and slender narrow-necked vessels used for oil and unguents and as an offering for the dead. The form resembles the aryballos in that it has a narrow neck and a single handle, but the lekythos is generally a taller vessel with a small, deep mouth. The Greek word lekythos was undoubtedly used for the various forms called "lekythos" today, although it also appears that the term was used for oil vessels in general in Ancient times.
• Satyrs and Maenads - Maenads are human female followers of Dionysus (sometimes called Nymphai) - Note added June 2010 by M. Weldon.
• White-ground - Refers to a style of ancient Greek vase painting that employed a variation on the technique of the Red-figure style and became popular in the middle of the fifth century BCE. It is characterized by the use of a chalky white slip as a background, over which black glaze was used to outline figures, and diluted glazes of purple, brown, red, and white were used to color the figures. Additional colors that could not withstand firing were added afterwards. Scenes often depict figures situated on a common groundline at the bottom of a panel or in horizontal bands, which is unlike earlier compositions where figures were generally scattered throughout the picture plane.

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