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Work 48 of 52
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Terracotta lekythos (oil flask)
Greek, Attic, white-ground, Classical, ca. 440 B.C.
Attributed to the Achilles Painter
Mourner and the deceased at tomb
H. 14 3/4 in. (37.39 cm)
Gift of Norbert Schimmel Trust, 1989 (1989.281.72)

Mourner and the deceased at tomb


This vase, which depicts a mourner and the deceased at tomb, exemplifies Attic white-ground funerary lekythoi at their finest. Funerary representations of the sixth century B.C. depicted the deceased surrounded by mourners. By the middle of the fifth century, the deceased was shown either as living or not at all. The figure at the left is a mourner; the deceased is identifiable by the diminutive soul fluttering above his head. The Achilles Painter was one of the foremost red-figure artists of the mid-fifth century B.C. His funerary lekythoi are among the most poignant and beautifully executed.