ClassificationsGreek and Roman Art
Funerary Lekythos with Departure Scene
CultureGreek, Attic
PeriodClassical
Date4th Century BCE
MediumMarble (Pentelikon)
Credit LineGift of Clara Mont-Claire O'Shea and John S. O'Shea in memory of Patricia A. O'Shea
Dimensions12 x 14 x 4 in. (30.5 x 35.6 x 10.2 cm)
Object number2003.018.001
Label TextDuring the late fifth and fourth centuries BC, elite Athenian graves were sometimes marked with marble monuments in the form of large vessels, replicating the bottle-shapes of lekythoi and loutrophoroi used in funerary ritual. This fragmentary relief comes from the shoulder and upper body of one such marble lekythos. A departing warrior stands at center wearing helmet, cuirass, tunic and chlamys. He faces left, clasping right hands with his father, who sits on a high-backed chair. His mother stands beyond, heavily draped and pulling one edge of her veil across her face. To the right, a slave carries the warrior's shield. An inscription above likely named the deceased.Exhibition HistoryMCCM Permanent Collection Reinstallation, September 2004 - June 5, 2014
MCCM Permanent Collection Reinstallation, March 16, 2015 - Present
Confronting Slavery in the Classical World, Michael C. Carlos Museum (virtual exhibition), September 29, 2021 - December 19, 2021
Published ReferencesBeloved by Time: Four Millennia of Ancient Art (New York: Fortuna Fine Arts, 2000), 55, number 100.
MCCM Newsletter, March - May 2003.
ProvenanceEx coll. Dr. R. Rosenson, Chicago, Illinois, purchased from Fortuna Fine Arts, Ltd., New York, New York, mid 1990s. With Fortuna Fine Arts, Ltd., New York. Purchased by MCCM from Fortuna Fine Arts, Ltd.
Status
On viewCollections
- Greek and Roman Art
20th Century
ca. 2500-2400 BCE
second half of the 1st Century BCE
late 19th Century
1st Century CE
mid 1st-2nd Century CE
