WHITE 
 
 ATHENIAN VASES 
 
 IN THE 
 
 BRITISH MUSEUM. 
 
WHITE 
 
 ATHENIAN VASES 
 
 IN THE 
 
 BRITISH MUSEUM 
 
 BY 
 
 A. S. MURRAY, LL.D., F.S.A. 
 
 Keeper of Greek and Roman Antiquities 
 AND 
 
 A. H. SMITH, M.A., F.S.A. 
 
 Assistant in the Department of Greek and Roman Antiquities 
 
 tJ ,®E rDS tlo 
 LIBRARY 
 
 CITV>' 1 ' 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 PRINTED BY ORDER OF THE TRUSTEES 
 
 AND SOLD AT THE BRITISH MUSEUM 
 
 And by Longmans and Co., 39 Paternoster Row 
 B. Quaritch, 15 Piccadilly; Asher and Co., 13 Bedford Street, Covent Garden 
 Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner and Co., Charing Cross Road 
 And the Oxford University Press, Amen Corner 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 The Vase-designs in the present publication, with the exception of those on Pis. xv., 
 xvi., xvii, xviii. b, xix, have been reproduced from negatives taken by means of the 
 cyclograph, an apparatus invented by Mr. A. H. Smith of this Department with the view 
 of obtaining absolutely correct photographic copies of the paintings on vases of a cylindrical 
 shape. The descriptions which accompany the several plates have been written by 
 Mr. Smith; the Introduction is by myself. 
 
 Department of Greek and Roman Antiquities, 
 ist SeJ>t., 1896. 
 
 A. S. MURRAY. 
 
 J 
 
 384284 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 E. Pottier, Lecythes Blancs Attiqucs. Paris, 1883. 
 
 O. Benndorf, Griechische und Sicilische Vasenbilder. Berlin, 1869-1883. 
 C. Robert, Thanatos. Berlin, 1879: (39" Winckclmanns-Programm). 
 Dumont & Chaplain, Les Ceramiques de la Grice Propre. Paris, 1888. 
 
 The vases here selected for publication are dis¬ 
 tinguished in several striking particulars from the 
 great mass of Greek pottery of the same age. In 
 the first place the figures are painted on a white 
 ground and, for the most part, merely in outline; 
 whereas in the majority of contemporary vases the 
 figures stand out in the red colour of the clay 
 against a background of black glaze with which the 
 body of the vase is covered. There was thus in 
 the white vases an exceptional opportunity for 
 purity of outline in the drawing, and it is not 
 without reason that they are regarded as the best 
 representatives we as yet possess of the great age 
 of Greek fresco-painting, in which also purity and 
 sweep of outline on a white ground, simplicity of 
 composition and a limited scale of brilliant colours, 
 were the chief characteristics. In the second place 
 the white vases, with a certain number of excep¬ 
 tions which will be noticed afterwards, constitute 
 a class by themselves, partly as regards shape and 
 wholly as regards the subjects painted upon them. 
 The shape was what the Athenians of the day 
 called a lekythos, i.e. a tall cylindrical vase with one 
 handle and a narrow neck, intended for pouring a 
 liquid in a slow stream. The subjects constantly 
 refer to Death and the Grave. Thirdly, the 
 white lekythi were peculiarly a product of the 
 Athenians. 
 
 An often-cited passage of the Athenian comic 
 poet Aristophanes speaks of a painter “ who paints 
 with figures lekythi for the dead” (05 rots veKpouri 
 ^aiypcufieL ras )w]K.v 6 ov<s, Eccles. 996). It is held 
 that the reference must clearly be to the white 
 lekythi, because on them alone are the subjects 
 constantly appropriate to the dead, while the num¬ 
 ber of them which can be assigned to the time of 
 Aristophanes on the ground of style is sufficiently 
 large to justify the inference that the production 
 of these special lekythi had become a considerable 
 occupation in Athens just then. 
 
 From first to last the white lekythi were a local 
 
 fashion, and possibly enough the use of them at 
 funerals had been carried to an excess which 
 deserved the passing mention of the poet, though 
 he does not expressly censure it. PI. xm. shows us 
 a tumulus, within which we are supposed to see the 
 vases deposited there. It will be seen that these are 
 not always lekythi. Vases of several other shapes 
 are included. It is not therefore to be supposed 
 that the lekythi, however fashionable they may have 
 become, excluded the use of other vases at the same 
 time, on which doubtless the paintings were of the 
 usual class without any special association with 
 death. 
 
 The period which these lekythi cover does not 
 extend much beyond a century and a half, beginning 
 about 460 b . c . It was undoubtedly the most 
 flourishing period of Greek art; and if the vase- 
 painters were limited in their powers and in their 
 opportunities as compared with the great fresco- 
 painters, they have at least shown themselves well 
 qualified to catch the inspiration of their betters. 
 The picture of Charon in his boat, as seen on 
 PI. xii . and in some other instances, has been 
 compared with the literary description (Pausanias, x. 
 28, 2) which survives of a similar group in a fresco 
 by Polygnotos at Delphi. It is argued that the 
 vase-picture may well have been derived directly 
 from that original; and certainly the quiet dignity 
 which pervades it through all the varying forms in 
 which this subject appears on the lekythi, its simpli¬ 
 city of lines and colours, prepare us to accept this 
 view, the more so when we remember how that 
 great fresco at Delphi was filled with many other 
 groups of figures expressive of life in the lower 
 world, not perhaps in any instance strictly identical 
 with the groups on the vases, but yet of the same 
 pathetic cast and the same general effects of line 
 and colour. In the higher artistic qualities there 
 may have been a wide gap between even the best 
 of the vases and the paintings of Polygnotos and 
 his contemporaries. But for the present the white 
 
 B 
 
6 
 
 vases, almost alone among Greek remains, enable 
 us to realize in some effective measure the general 
 aspect of the much renowned but now irrecover¬ 
 able frescoes of the Lesche at Delphi. 
 
 In one instance we may indeed go a step nearer 
 to these originals. We refer to a tablet in the 
 Museum on the Acropolis of Athens ( Ephem . 
 Arch. 1887, pi. 6), on which is painted on a white 
 stucco ground a figure of a young warrior charging, 
 the date of the work being the early part of the 
 5th century b.c. Compared with the contemporary 
 lekythi on the one hand and with what we know of 
 the contemporary fresco-painters, this tablet may be 
 regarded as forming a sort of bridge between the 
 two. The fragmentary wall-paintings from Eleusis 
 {Ephem. Arch. 1888, pis. 4, 5) are of too late a date 
 to be of any use in our argument, however interesting 
 they may be as showing the continuation of the older 
 methods down to a late time. 
 
 But the painters of lekythi, though they owed 
 their technical methods in a large measure, and 
 certainly their best inspiration, to the fresco-painters, 
 were at the same time subject to other influences. 
 They had as contemporaries in Athens, and in one 
 sense as rivals, the sculptors of marble stelae, which 
 served as tombstones. The province of the sculptor 
 of stelae, at this particular period, was to illustrate 
 in bas-relief parting scenes between the deceased 
 and his or her relations, groups in which the status 
 in life of the deceased was indicated, as where a 
 woman is seated with a jewel-box in her hands and 
 a maid standing before her; or where a woman 
 holds up a doll, to show that the deceased had been 
 only an infant; or, again, groups in which the 
 immediate cause of death is suggested rather than 
 represented, as where a maid holding an infant in 
 swaddling clothes before a seated woman suggests 
 that the woman had died in child-birth ; or where 
 a young horseman, like Dexileos, who fell in a 
 battle at Corinth, is seen striking down an enemy. 
 These are the usual types of the stelae. In their 
 subjects they stop short just before the death of 
 the person whom they commemorate. They are 
 almost as abundant in Athens as are the white 
 lekythi, with which they were contemporaneous; 
 and while a limited number of them are of the 
 greatest artistic refinement and excellence, the 
 greater proportion are commonplace. That is also 
 true of the lekythi. 
 
 Between the stelae, stopping short in their illus¬ 
 trations just before the expiration of life, and the 
 lekythi which, with few exceptions, only begin at 
 Death-bed scenes, passing on to Depositions at 
 the tomb, mourners assembled round a tombstone, 
 or Charon in his boat, there is a logical continuation 
 of thought. The lekythi were made to be placed 
 in the tomb (PI. xm.) or on the steps of the tomb 
 (PI. xxvii. and D 71). Their function did not 
 begin till life had expired. Apparently they had 
 usurped the place of an older class of Athenian 
 vases on which the lying in state {irpodecrii) is repre¬ 
 sented. But they went far beyond the scope of 
 these earlier vases. 
 
 Where the stele and the lekythos thus went hand 
 in hand, the one complementing the other in the 
 natural order of thought, some mutual reaction of 
 the one on the other in an artistic sense was also to 
 be expected. Accordingly we find a number of 
 tombstones, chiefly of the later period, which take 
 the form of marble lekythi; while others, both of 
 the earlier and later periods, are painted—not sculp¬ 
 tured—with figures which recall the paintings on the 
 lekythi in their general aspect. See, for instance, 
 the painted stele of Lyseas in Athens (Conze, 
 Attische Grabreliefs , pi. 1) for an example of the 
 earlier period. Several specimens of the later 
 period, found in Cyprus, are now in the Museum. 
 More important, however, are those instances where 
 we find on the lekythi groups of figures which, so 
 far as the artistic conception goes, might equally 
 well appear on the sculptured stelae. PI. 1., a 
 woman seated and receiving an alabastos from an 
 attendant who stands before her ; PI. hi., a warrior 
 and a woman standing before him holding his 
 helmet, are cases in point. It is true that these are 
 exceptional subjects on the lekythi, as is also the 
 mounted Amazon on PI. xxiv., or the warrior on 
 PI. viii.; but the fact that they are exceptional is in 
 itself evidence of the influence of the sculptors of 
 stelae on the painters of lekythi. It is to be observed 
 also that in many of the lekythi the central object is 
 a funeral stele, beside which we see a group of two 
 or, in some cases, three mourners assembled. As 
 a rule there is no indication of sculptured figures on 
 these stelae. But minute figures such as alone could 
 have been introduced on the stelae would have had 
 a trivial effect, and must have been obnoxious to the 
 taste and judgment of an Athenian vase-painter. 
 We cannot expect such figures on the vases. What 
 we can and do expect is that the artistic spirit of the 
 sculptured reliefs should be reflected in the group 
 of figures standing or sitting beside the stele on the 
 vase. The question is, To what extent, if any, do 
 these groups on the vases (omitting, of course, the 
 stele in the centre) betray the influence of sculpture 
 in relief as seen in the contemporary stelae ? We 
 think that on some of the best lekythi this influence 
 is undeniable. Take for example Pis. ii.-v., xxi. a, 
 xxvi. b, and compare them with the scene of Charon 
 in his boat on PI. xii., which is obviously pictorial in 
 its conception. In the Charon scene it is not only 
 the composition as a whole that is pictorial. There 
 are also those touches of animation in the faces and 
 figures of both the girl and of Charon which imply 
 a freedom and impulsiveness more proper to rapid 
 drawing with a brush than to the laborious process 
 of sculpture in marble. We are far from arguing 
 that all the lekythi which have a funeral stele as the 
 central object have been influenced by the con¬ 
 temporary sculptors of stelae. On the contrary, we 
 would accept as essentially pictorial Pis. ix. and xi., 
 on which we see the genii of Sleep and Death 
 depositing beside a stele the body of a warrior who 
 has fallen in battle, much as they carried Sarpedon 
 from the field of Troy to his home in Lycia, to be 
 buried in a tomb with a stele beside his kinsmen 
 
7 
 
 {Iliad, xvi. 672). On these vases there are no 
 mourners present. The scene is in the realm of 
 legend. The characterisation of Death as a grizzly 
 bearded man and of Sleep as an effeminate youth 
 shows the free rapid touch of the painter, not the 
 monumental conception of the sculptor; and this 
 will hold good equally well if in some of these 
 groups we prefer to identify the two genii as the 
 Winds, Boreas and Zephyros, carrying off the body 
 of Memnon, as a late Greek poet tells (Quintus 
 Smyrnaeus, ii. 549 ; cf. Robert, Thanatos, p. n), con¬ 
 trary to the usual belief that it was Eos herself who 
 carried off the body of her son from Troy. The 
 association of Boreas and Zephyros with the pyre of 
 Patroclos {Iliad, xxiii. 194), or the striking legend 
 of the two tombstones of the sons of Boreas, which 
 moved at his breath (Apollon. Rhodius, i. 1307), 
 prepares us to expect, first, that the ceremony of 
 carrying off a fallen warrior, which appears to have 
 originated with Thanatos and Hypnos, would in time 
 be made to extend to the wind-gods also; and, 
 secondly, that the type of Boreas would in this 
 case be assimilated to Thanatos, that of Zephyros 
 to Hypnos. On a lekythos, not in the Museum 
 (Pottier, LiCythes blancs, pi. 2), two bearded winged 
 genii deposit a dead man on a chair, while two 
 relatives stand by mourning. But there is no stele 
 in this composition. It is in fact a death-bed scene, 
 and, like the other vases of that class, belongs rather 
 to the art of the painter. These compositions are 
 too loosely put together for a sculptor. 
 
 On PI. vi. we see two youths hunting a hare. 
 Possibly the presence of a hare beside a tomb 
 implied pollution. But in any case the scene is 
 conceived in the open country, and may be regarded 
 as essentially pictorial. On a lekythos in Athens 
 {Ephem. Arch., 1894, pi. 2) is again a hare, sitting 
 on a rock in the open country, near a tomb beside 
 which mourners are gathered. But whether the 
 sculptors of the stelae influenced the painters of the 
 lekythi, or contrariwise, it is obvious that the pro¬ 
 ductions of both have a strong family likeness, even 
 in external aspect. The most obvious characteristic 
 of both is their whiteness; and as white was the 
 predominant colour of a marble stele, while on 
 vases it was comparatively rare, except in this 
 particular class of lekythi, which in subjects are 
 akin to the stelae, we can hardly escape the con¬ 
 clusion that the vases had been directly influenced 
 by the stelae. On the actual stelae there are few 
 traces of colour. But it was the custom of rela¬ 
 tives of the deceased to bind taeniae, or sashes 
 of bright red, round the marble stelae, in token 
 of respect. That, of course, was no part of the 
 original conception of the sculptors of stelae; but 
 when we find these bright colours faithfully re¬ 
 produced on the stelae which figure on the vases, 
 we may point to this fact as evidence that in 
 general aspect the stelae had exercised a direct 
 and continuous influence on the vase-painters. 
 Similarly the robes of bright red, green, or blue 
 which occasionally occur on the lekythi have no 
 equivalents on the marble stelae. But if M. Pottier 
 
 {loc. cit. p. 59) is right in suggesting that relatives 
 were free to wear these bright colours when they 
 came to visit the tomb, after the usual thirty days 
 of mourning had expired, we may here again 
 recognise the influence of the stelae. In the period 
 immediately following after the white lekythi, it is 
 common enough to find on the red-figure vases of 
 Magna Graecia representations of funeral stelae, on 
 which the sculptures are rendered in white, as an 
 equivalent for the original marble. On these vases 
 the stele or monument has become the principal 
 object. The mourners are of secondary account. 
 Nevertheless, the fact is there, that the stelae were 
 still maintaining their influence over the painters of 
 vases destined for funeral purposes. 
 
 In Professor Conze’s work {Attische Grabrelie/s), 
 where all the Attic stelae known to exist at the 
 present day are collected, it is painful to observe 
 the monotonous repetition of the same subject. 
 There may have been little scope for imagination 
 within the limits of subject prescribed by usage. 
 On the other hand, even in the higher walks of 
 Greek sculpture in relief— always excepting the 
 Parthenon frieze—there is an obvious habit of repro¬ 
 ducing the same class of subjects, and, in not a few 
 instances, the same conception of particular groups. 
 Battle scenes, varied between Greeks and Amazons, 
 Greeks and Persians, Centaurs and Lapiths, are the 
 rule. Groups which are identical in artistic con¬ 
 ception may be seen on the friezes of the Theseion, 
 of Phigaleia, and of the Nike temple at Athens. 
 Compared with the almost endless variety of con¬ 
 ception on the Greek vases, other than the lekythi, 
 how different this is! It may thus be argued that 
 the limited range of subjects accepted by the 
 sculptors of stelae had unduly influenced the painters 
 of lekythi, though these latter, both by the technical 
 processes which they employed and by a number of 
 splendid examples which they have left to our day, 
 were strictly pupils of the great fresco-painters. 
 
 In the production of a white lekythos, the tech¬ 
 nical process was to take a vase of this shape as it 
 left the potter’s wheel and had its handle fixed 
 to it; then to cover with a thin white coating, 
 approaching in quality to plaster of Paris, as much 
 of the body of the vase as was required. When 
 this coating had sufficiently dried, the figures in 
 outline were drawn in upon it with a fine brush 
 charged with black colour in the earlier specimens, 
 a golden yellow in the best, and a pale red in the 
 later. Occasionally on the finest vases a very beau¬ 
 tiful combination is effected, of black for the strong 
 contours of a figure and golden yellow for the inner 
 markings of bones, muscles, and hair. In some 
 fine specimens {e.g. Pis. ix., x., Kin.) the lines have 
 now a faint colour approaching that of a pencil 
 drawing, but it is uncertain how far that may or may 
 not be due to deterioration of an originally black 
 pigment. Among the later vases characterised by 
 pale red lines, not a few in the Museum series, as 
 in other collections, are of coarse workmanship, and 
 have been excluded from the present publication on 
 the ground that they are only interesting in so far 
 
as they show to what extent the production of 
 lekythi had become a mere industry, repeating the 
 old conceptions more or less negligently. Others 
 are remarkable for a strong and vigorous expres¬ 
 sion. A good instance is D 71, which may also 
 serve to illustrate another point. It will be seen 
 that the thick blue colour of the drapery round the 
 legs of the seated figure has flaked off in parts, 
 revealing underneath the red lines with which the 
 folds of drapery had originally been painted in and 
 fired. The blue had been added subsequently, and 
 the lines of the drapery repeated above it. Ap¬ 
 parently the same process had been followed in 
 laying on the rich reds and greens, which also occur 
 on vases of the later stage, where the painter aims 
 more at strength of expression than at delicacy in 
 the drawing. 
 
 In the lekythi included in the present publication 
 we are confronted with Athenian art of the 5th cen¬ 
 tury b . c ., running over to some extent into the 4th 
 century. That was a period of extraordinarily rapid 
 development. Starting from a basis of perfected ar¬ 
 chaism, it advanced to Pheidias, with his splendidly 
 idealized forms of gods and men, then passed on to 
 Scopas and Praxiteles, with their tendency towards 
 emotionalism and a more minute study of individual 
 forms. On the lekythi we cannot expect more than 
 a passing glimpse of these great contemporary move¬ 
 ments in sculpture. Such a glimpse, however, we 
 do sometimes obtain; as, for example, in the two 
 youths standing beside a stele on PI. v., or beside a 
 tumulus on PI. xm., of which it may be said that 
 they are pervaded by the same sense of youthful 
 beauty, with its charm of restraint in manner, which 
 constitutes the glory of the Parthenon frieze. There 
 are bearded and even old men on the lekythi, but 
 altogether we carry away the impression that by far 
 the greater number of figures are youthful. The 
 reason may have been that youth was believed to be 
 the period when bereavement produces its simplest 
 and most natural effects, as in the typical instance 
 of Orestes and Electra at the tomb of Agamemnon. 
 In that case the influence of the Parthenon frieze 
 would have been less direct, but it may have been 
 all the more subtle from the coincidence that both 
 the frieze and the lekythi fasten on the beauty and 
 charms of youth as their chief task. We do not 
 presume to say that the great fresco-painters con¬ 
 temporary with Pheidias had not supplied direct 
 models for the vase-painters in this respect also, but 
 until these frescoes are recovered we naturally turn 
 to the frieze of the Parthenon, or to the sculptured 
 stelae which by their very nature make the ex¬ 
 pression of human sympathy their first duty. 
 
 The lekythi where emotion is strongly expressed 
 may be compared with the later development of 
 sculpture, such as we find it, for example, in the 
 great group of the Niobides in Florence. Indeed, 
 the youth throwing a stone at a hare on PI. vi. 
 vividly recalls one of the Niobides, while in general 
 it may be said that the pathos which pervades the 
 whole series of the Niobides—whether in the action 
 of individual figures or of groups—is found on the 
 
 lekythi also to a degree which inevitably suggests 
 more or less of indebtedness on the part of the 
 painters to the sculptors. We do not expect on 
 the vases the infinite beauty of detail which charms 
 us in the Hermes of Praxiteles. But with the 
 capabilities of outline drawing once in their posses¬ 
 sion, the lekythi painters saw their way clear to 
 produce emotion and pathos by simple means. At 
 this stage we can suppose that the higher order 
 of painters had exercised a direct and powerful 
 influence, the sculptors of stelae less and less. There 
 is no stele which can approach PI. x. and D 71, 
 with their almost tragic emotion expressed by means 
 of outline alone. That is possible only in painting 
 or drawing. The true touch of the painter is seen 
 in the drawing of the hands on PI. xhi ., PI. 11., or in 
 the clever perspective with which the dead warrior 
 (Sarpedon) on PI. xi. is drawn, with his body turned 
 three-quarters to the front and all the details care¬ 
 fully studied from this point of view. We realize 
 how carefully this has been done when we compare 
 this figure with the Sarpedon on PI. ix., where the 
 same subject occurs, and where the general scheme 
 of composition is the same: Thanatos, strong and 
 bearded, supports the feet of Sarpedon; while 
 Hypnos, young and slim, takes the heavier task of 
 supporting his head and shoulders. Both composi¬ 
 tions are strictly pictorial in character. And in 
 some respects PI. ix. is the finer of the two, as, for 
 instance, in the figures of Death and Sleep, which 
 are not made to sacrifice dignity of form in order to 
 intensify the general impression of powerlessness 
 and limpness, which is the case to a degree on 
 PI. xi. But when we come to the carrying out of 
 details, we see how the painter of PI. ix. has been 
 content to give us in the fewest possible lines, and 
 these rarely of any particularly fine quality, a subject 
 which in its general outline he found ready to hand, 
 most probably among the works of the great fresco- 
 painters. The painter of PI. xi. also accepts the 
 general lines of a subject which he found ready to 
 hand from the same quarter, but he sets himself 
 to particularise and intensify the. expression of 
 sadness and dejection inherent in the original con¬ 
 ception. The body of Sarpedon is made to assume 
 a nearly sitting posture, instead of lying rigid and 
 straight, as it does in the splendid drawing on our 
 red-figure kylix, E 12. His hands fall lifeless ; the 
 legs have no resistance ; one foot crosses over the 
 other as if it could not be helped. The drawing is 
 beautiful, but the effect is sad. So also in the 
 attitudes of the genii of Death and Sleep ; their bent 
 bodies, and especially their bent knees, suggest that 
 they are oppressed by weariness and grief. The 
 physical collapse of Sarpedon extends in part to 
 them; and thus they are made, wrongly perhaps, 
 to help in deepening the gloom of the picture as a 
 whole. These are points which seem to indicate 
 a strong individuality in the painter. The unnatural 
 reddish colour applied to the body of Hypnos is so 
 unusual that we must include it also as part of a 
 carefully thought-out conception. The cuirass of 
 Sarpedon is drawn in with minute attention to per- 
 
9 
 
 spective. The long sweeping lines of the limbs are 
 mostly fine, especially so those of the right arm of 
 Thanatos and the thighs of Sarpedon, whose feet 
 also are admirably rendered, with the simplest 
 possible means. 
 
 To the series of lekythi on which a deep pathos 
 is expressed in the strong rapid manner, and with the 
 simple means of a painter, we must add PI. vn., on 
 which we see a mother lamenting over her dead 
 child. It is true that scenes of this character occur 
 on some archaic terra-cotta tablets, where they are 
 moulded in relief. But while claiming the vase as 
 essentially pictorial, we admit—it is in fact part of 
 our argument—that the sculptors of these mortuary 
 scenes went hand in hand with the painters of the 
 same. In the present state of knowledge, however, 
 we are inclined to draw this distinction, that in the 
 archaic period to which these tablets belong, it was 
 the painters of vases who took the initiative in the 
 creation of these scenes. Subsequently, during the 
 finest period of the sculptured stelae, the sculptors 
 seem to have exercised a considerable influence on 
 the vase-painters, in leading them frequently to the 
 choice of placidly composed groups, such as prevail 
 on the stelae. But at the most this influence could 
 only have been partial. At no time did it interfere 
 with those painters who found the truest outlet to 
 their genius, and to their own proper gifts, in the 
 expression of grief. 
 
 It is evident from Pis. xm. and xxvti. or D 71, that 
 the placing of lekythi within the tombs or on the 
 stelae did not exclude the use of other vases for the 
 same purpose ; and in most instances it is to be 
 supposed that the subjects on these other vases bore 
 no reference whatever to the tomb. They would 
 be vases of the ordinary red-figure class. Nor did 
 the lekythi themselves invariably adhere to their 
 proper function of representing sepulchral scenes, 
 whether idealised from ordinary life or based on such 
 legends as the burial of Sarpedon or Memnon, the 
 mourning of Orestes and Electra at the tomb of 
 Agamemnon, or Charon in his boat. There are 
 exceptions, as in PI. xiv., where we have a head of 
 the goddess Athene; while among the smaller and 
 ruder lekythi in the Museum, not included in this 
 publication, are occasionally to be seen subjects 
 which have no perceptible reference to death, eg. a 
 girl washing at a laver, D 29. The figure of Vic¬ 
 tory holding a wreath over an altar, on PI. xxm. b, 
 could hardly have been associated with the grave so 
 long before Christian times. Nor does the presence 
 of other deities on lekythi in other collections appear 
 to be explicable on any view of appropriateness to 
 the tomb. The same may be said of the figure on 
 PI. xxvi. a, if she is a priestess of Athen&, accom¬ 
 panied by the sacred serpent of the goddess ( Cata¬ 
 logue of Vases, iii., D 23), as would almost seem to 
 be the case from the presence of a column sugges¬ 
 tive of a temple. On the other hand, the connexion 
 of serpents with tombs is vouched for repeatedly on 
 the vases, as, for instance, on a lekythos ( Jahrbuch , 
 1891, pi. 4) where we see a large white tumulus 
 within which, or at all events largely hidden Ijy it, 
 
 are two huge snakes, darting their heads towards a 
 man, who escapes in terror, looking back at them. 
 On vases where the tomb of Patroclos occurs 
 (B 239, or Gerhard, Vasenb., 198-199), a serpent is 
 sketched across the tumulus, and may be under¬ 
 stood to be within it, like the two serpents within the 
 tumulus of Glaukos, on PI. xvi. So that possibly 
 the figure on PI. xxvi. a may not be a priestess of 
 Athene, but a mourner, expressing, by the action of 
 her hands, astonishment as the serpent moves away. 
 It is to be observed that the tumuli on these vases 
 are painted white,—are, in fact, “ whited sepulchres,” 
 —and that an actual tumulus discovered at Athens 
 on the way to the Piraeus in 1891 was covered ex¬ 
 ternally with a coating of white stucco ( Jahrbuch, 
 1891, p. 198). 
 
 Several of the lekythi included in this publication 
 were found in tombs at Eretria in Euboea. But 
 there is no reason to suppose that they had been 
 made at Eretria. The style is purely Athenian, so 
 far as we can see, and the distance from Athens 
 was so slight that the importation of vases must 
 have been one of the simplest matters of daily 
 occurrence. A question on which more may be 
 said is, Whether certain white lekythi found in Sicily 
 and in Magna Graecia are of Athenian fabric, or 
 are not rather the production of a local pottery ? 
 The vases on Pis. xxii. and xxvi. a were found at 
 Gela, and therefore belong to this disputed series, 
 to which we may add also D 47 (published as pi. 25 
 in Catalogue of Vases, vol. iii.) from Gela and 
 PI. xxiv. from Locri. As regards the last mentioned, 
 the subject so closely resembles in artistic concep¬ 
 tion the famous stele of Dexileos in Athens, that 
 we cannot well suspect it as of other than a pure 
 Athenian origin. The other three just cited are so 
 far peculiar that the himation of the women is ren¬ 
 dered in a black glaze, such as is usually reserved 
 for the neck and foot of the lekythos. But this 
 peculiarity is shared by D 33 (Electra and Orestes), 
 which comes from Eretria, and in all probability 
 was an Athenian import. On the whole the theory 
 of a “ Gela ” fabric does not find much support. 
 
 It remains now to notice briefly those vases other 
 than lekythi which we have included in this publica¬ 
 tion, because of their similarity from a technical 
 point of view, and because the drawing on them 
 exhibits the same exceeding beauty of line which 
 we find on the best of the lekythi. In proof of this 
 latter statement we need only refer to the series of 
 kylikes, Pis. xv.-xix. The mastery of line in the 
 drawing of the Hephaestos on PI. xix. commands 
 universal admiration. The fascination of the 
 Aphrodite riding on a swan (PI. xv.) seems to be 
 due partly to the singularly beautiful combination of 
 lines in the composition, partly to the sweetness of 
 the conception as a whole, and partly to the name¬ 
 less grace which pervades the drawing. It will be 
 seen how the artist has corrected himself in the 
 drawing of the honeysuckle. But otherwise his 
 confidence is perfect. Though found in Rhodes, 
 this vase is unquestionably Athenian work, contem¬ 
 porary with the grandest of the lekythi. The three 
 
 c 
 
IO 
 
 smaller kylikes on Pis. xvi.-xvm. may have less 
 boldness, and may partake less of the manner of 
 the great fresco-painters. But to their greater 
 precision and minuteness of drawing they add the 
 charm of an exquisite beauty, which is shed over 
 composition and drawing alike. Even the shapes 
 are unrivalled in delicacy and refinement. The 
 subject on PI. xvi., with the large tumulus in the 
 centre, may not in itself be sufficient to indicate 
 that this vase was specially painted for a tomb, 
 because tumuli do appear occasionally on vases 
 which were not, so far as we know, so destined. 
 Yet the prominence of the tumulus, and the appro¬ 
 priateness of the legend, go far to prove that the 
 original intention of the painter had been to provide 
 a vase for a tomb. 
 
 Of the vases other than lekythi there remain to 
 be noticed PI. xx., a pyxis, or rather the circular 
 
 cover of a pyxis, on which is a marriage ceremony, 
 and PI. xvm. A, an alabastos on which are two 
 Maenads with a crane between them. Both these 
 vases have this in common, that they retain not a 
 little of the archaic manner of painting, with its 
 singular sweetness of expression and refinement in 
 the drawing of minute details, against which, how¬ 
 ever, have to be set certain defects in the sense of 
 proportion in the limbs and a want of freedom in 
 the movement of the draperies. The alabastos has 
 an interest of its own from the fact of its being 
 signed by the artist Pasiades, whose works are 
 otherwise unknown hitherto. That he was an 
 Athenian, and that the vase had been imported 
 from Athens into Cyprus, seem to be unquestioned. 
 The marriage ceremony on the pyxis cover has 
 also a special interest, from the rarity of such scenes 
 in ancient Greek art. 
 
 A. S. MURRAY. 
 
 ' 
 
PLATE I. 
 
 D 57. Lekythos from Eretria. Ht. ug- inches. Subject, two women conversing. The one holds 
 out her hand to receive an alabastos which the other brings her. A cap with strings 
 hangs on the right. 
 
 The design is drawn in with a light brown glaze. The cap and mantle of the seated figure 
 are vermilion. The colours on the other draperies have faded. 
 
 Note.—A more detailed account of this and the following vases may be found under the 
 corresponding numbers in the Catalogue of Greek and Etruscan Vases m the British Museum, 
 vol. iii., by C. H. Smith (1896). 
 
12 
 
 PLATE II. 
 
 D 48. Lekythos from Athens. Ht. 14-^- inches. Published by Klein, Vasen mit Lieblingsinschriften, 
 p. 86. Subject, a woman holding a mass of drapery, which she is about to give to a 
 girl. Two caps and a jug are hung up behind them. Inscribed 'Tyiaivav «a\6s. 
 
 Drawn in glazed brown outlines, varying to black on the hair; red with strokes of yellow on 
 the folded drapery; red on the caps; purple on the head-band of the woman. 
 

 
 
 
13 
 
 PLATE III. 
 
 D 51. Lekythos from Poli-tis-Chrysokhou, Cyprus. Presented by the Cyprus Exploration Fund. 
 
 Ht. 15-^ inches. Published (in colours) in Journ. of Hellenic Studies, xii., pi. 14, p. 315. 
 
 Subject, a warrior, with sword and spear, receiving a helmet from a woman. Between 
 them is a goose, pecking the ground. On the left is a low seat; above is hung a jug. 
 
 Drawn in brown, varying to black, and red for the cap and helmet. 
 

 
 LIBRARY 
 
 JffiSfy CITY .W- J ' 
 
PLATE IV. 
 
 D 53. Lekythos from Athens. Ht. nf inches. Subject, a seated woman bringing together the ends 
 of a wreath, while a companion offers a string to tie it with. A jug and two caps with 
 strings are hung above. Drawn with brown glaze, varying to black ; red for the caps, the 
 mantle of the seated figure, and the alternate petals of the palmettes on the shoulder; 
 the chair is pink. 
 
PLATE V. 
 
 Lekythos from Eretria. Ht. 13 inches. Subject, scene at a tomb. Two youths stand beside 
 the tomb, which is marked by a tall shaft, bedecked with sashes. One holds a bag 
 or purse; the other has a traveller’s hat slung round his neck, and carries a long 
 staff or spear. A shade is seen flitting near the tomb, in the form of a diminutive 
 draped and winged figure, with one hand raised to its head, and the other hand pointing 
 to the tomb. Drawn in brown glaze, varying to black, with dull black on the sashes 
 and accentuating the draperies, red on the short cloak, and purple on the mantle. 
 
i6 
 
 PLATE VI. 
 
 D 60. Lekythos, from Ambelokepi, near Athens. Ht. 12^ inches. Subject, a hare-hunt near a 
 tomb. A dog pursues a hare over rocky ground, which partly conceals the base of the 
 stele. A youth urges on the dog, while his companion throws a stone at the 
 hare. Drawn in brown glaze, varying to black, with dull black on the palmettes; 
 body of hare yellow. The mantle of the youth throwing the stone, and the sashes 
 are red. 
 
i7 
 
 PLATE VII. 
 
 D 62, Lekythos from Eretria. Ht. 13 inches. Subject, the formal laying out of a dead body, which 
 preceded burial, and was called the Prothesis. The dead youth lies stretched on a couch, 
 and three figures stand round making gestures of grief. Painted in dull black, with red 
 and yellow for the draperies. 
 
PL,VII 
 
i8 
 
 PLATE VIII. 
 
 D 21. Lekythos from Eretria. Ht. 12^ inches. Subject, armed warrior, striding to the right. 
 
 Inscribed kg iAos. Painted in black, varying to brown, with white on the crest of the 
 helmet and purple lines below the figure. The palmettes on the shoulder are black 
 on a red ground. 
 

 LIBRARY 
 fc J EBsrV CITV,"' 
 
D 59. Lekythos from Athens (?). Ht. 14^ inches. Subject, the body of a young warrior being laid 
 in the tomb by two winged beings. In the Iliad, the body of Sarpedon is carried to 
 Lycia by Sleep and Death (Hypnos and Thanatos), and the symbolism of such a scene, 
 on a vase intended for use at the grave, is manifest ( cf. PI. xi.). An alternative 
 explanation is that the dead warrior may here perhaps be represented as carried to 
 the grave by Boreas and Zephyros, as the body of Memnon is said to have been 
 (Quintus Smyrnaeus, ii. 549). Painted in dull black, with vermilion on the draperies, 
 and yellow on the cuirass. 
 
20 
 
 PLATE X. 
 
 D 70. Lekythos. Ht. ig|- inches. Published (in colours) by Raoul-Rochette, Peintures Antiques 
 Inedites, pis. viii.-xi. Subject, offerings at a tomb. A woman is seated on the steps 
 of the tomb, tearing her hair. Two others bring flat baskets with vases, a bottle 
 of ointment, and many sashes. The tomb consists of a plinth of two steps, and a 
 shaft with an egg and tongue necking, surmounted by a large acanthus. Painted in 
 dull black, with green for the mantle of the seated figure. The figure on the right 
 has a red diplois, on which is a yellow pattern. Blue and green are used for the 
 sashes, and blue for the ornaments on the tomb. 
 
21 
 
 PLATE XI. 
 
 D 58. Lekythos, from Ambelokepi, near Athens. Ht. 19-4- inches. Robert, Thanatos , pi. 2 and 
 p. 19. A. S. Murray, Handbook of Greek Archaeology, pi. 4. Subject, a young warrior 
 being laid in the tomb by Death and Sleep (Thanatos and Hypnos). He still wears his 
 cuirass and sword. A plumed helmet is painted on the shaft of the stele. 
 
 The legendary prototype of the incident is the carrying away of Sarpedon from Troy to 
 Lycia, for burial, by Sleep and Death {Iliad, xvi. 682). In the present case, however, it is 
 possible that the representation may refer to some young Athenian soldier, at whose tomb the 
 lekythos was used, rather than to Sarpedon. 
 
 Homer calls Sleep and Death twin-brothers, but there is a later and variant account of the 
 end of the fifth century (from Euclid of Megara, preserved by Stobaeus, Florileg. vi. 65), 
 according to which Sleep is boy-like and young, while Death is a hoary old man. 
 
 Drawn in brown outlines, with dull black for the wings, red with black folds for the sashes 
 and drapery. The figure of Hypnos (Sleep) is filled in with a red wash, in an unusual manner. 
 
PL XU 
 
23 
 
 PLATE XIII. 
 
 D 56. Lekythos from Eretria. Ht. 15 inches. Subject, mourners at a tomb. The tomb consists 
 of a heaped-up mound on a plinth, and a shaft, decked with sashes. On the plinth, 
 
 or perhaps inside the mound, are various vessels, a lyre, and a wreath. One of the 
 
 mourners also touches a lyre. An owl (Hamp at yXaSites, lirl rafav Kadrjrat, Athen. 
 xiii. 592 S) stands on the mound. Painted in dull black, with vermilion, yellow, brown, 
 
 and black for the draperies and accessories. The drawing of this vase is so faint that 
 
 it has been found necessary to clear away parts of the ground in the photograph, in 
 order to make the subject plain. 
 

PL .XIV. 
 
,*»» ptrB ^o 
 library 
 I^hsey city J ' 
 
25 
 
 PLATE XV. 
 
 D 2. Kylix, found at Cameiros, in Rhodes, 1864. Ht. \\ inches. Diam. of cup 9$ inches. Principal 
 publications : Salzmann, NScropole de Cameiros , pi. 60; Harrison and MacColl, Greek Vase 
 Paintings , frontispiece. Subject, Aphrodite riding on a flying swan, holding a tendril and 
 flower in her right hand. Aphrodite is frequently represented on a swan, and the bird 
 on this vase has been usually so described. The neck, however, and head seem rather 
 those of a goose than of a swan. Inscribed ’A^/joSiriys, i.e. probably a picture “ of 
 Aphrodite,” and not a cup dedicated to her service. Also inscribed TXavrcov /caXo?, 
 “ Glaucon is fair.” This phrase of compliment occurs on vases signed by Euphronios, 
 but there is not sufficient resemblance of style between this vase and the signed works 
 of Euphronios to justify us in ascribing the drawing to that painter. The vase is 
 drawn in several shades of brown varying in depth to black. The drapery is pinkish 
 red, with darker folds and a white pattern. 
 
PL XV 
 
PUB L-r 0 
 
 LIBRARY 
 
 Jt »s fv citV> j ' 
 
26 
 
 PLATE XVI. 
 
 D 5. Kylix, from the Van Branteghem Collection. Ht. 3 inches. Diam. si inches. Published in 
 colour, Frohner, Van Branteghem Coll., no. 166, pi. 41. Subject, the story of Polyeidos 
 and Glaukos. Glaukos, the son of Minos, had died by falling into a jar of honey. 
 
 The seer Polyeidos was shut by the father in the boy’s tomb that he might bring him 
 
 to life. While he was at a loss how to act, he saw a snake approaching the boy, 
 and slew it. A second snake appeared, bringing some herb with which it revived its 
 dead companion. With the help of the same herb Polyeidos brought Glaukos to life. 
 
 This is the story told by Apollodoros {Bibl. iii. 3), but he does not explain how 
 
 Polyeidos became possessed of the herb. It has been supposed that he slew both 
 snakes, and that this is the moment represented on the vase. An alternative ex¬ 
 
 planation is that the vase illustrates two successive moments of the story, the killing of 
 the first snake and its subsequent restoration to life. The attitude of the boy Glaukos 
 has been explained as indicative of his return to life. But the more general view 
 is that this was the posture in which the dead were buried in primitive times. Both 
 serpents are seen on the stony floor of a vaulted tomb, which is surmounted by a 
 tripod. Inscribed IloXuetSos, TXau/cos near the figures, and signed (under the tripod) 
 SwrjaS^s. The vase is drawn in brown of various shades on a fine white ground. 
 Purple with black is used for the drapery. The pebbles are in relief. 
 
j5J.ES PB8 t(o 
 
 library 
 
27 
 
 PLATE XVII. 
 
 D 6. Kylix, from the Van Branteghem Collection. Ht. 3 inches. Diam. 5$ inches. 
 
 colour, Frohner, Van Branteghem Coll., no. 164, pi. 39. Subject, a 
 on tiptoe to pluck an apple. On the left of the tree much of the vas 
 but one line remains, which may have belonged to a second figure. 
 
 Inscribed, on the left meviji . . . and above the figure on the right . . . aao- 
 signature aaej epoiejen (SwrJaS^s inoiricrev) is written below. 
 
 Published in 
 girl standing 
 : is restored, 
 
 The artist's 
 
 Drawn in various shades of brown. The apples are in relief. 
 
PL. XVII 
 
28 
 
 PLATE XVIII. a. 
 
 B 668 (Cat. of Vases, vol. ii.). Alabastron, from Poli-tis-Chrysokhou, Cyprus. Ht. 5! inches. 
 
 Published in colour, Joicrn. of Hellen. Studies, viii. pi. 82. Subject, two Maenads. 
 One has a cup, and the other two branches. Between them, a crane. Inscribed round 
 the opening 6 ttcus /caXos, and round the shoulder IlacriaS^s inotycrev, the signature of an 
 otherwise unknown artist, Pasiades. Drawn in black and yellow, with red for the ears. 
 Below the vase is a red palmette, surrounded by black. 
 
 PLATE XVIII. b. 
 
 D 7. Kylix, from the Van Branteghem Collection. Ht. 1 inch. Diam. 5-J inches. Published in 
 colour, Frohner, Van Branteghem Coll., no. 165, pi. 40. [The position of the fragments 
 has since been altered.] Subject, death of Archemoros. When the Seven Heroes, 
 on their march against Thebes, came to Nemea, the land was suffering from drought. 
 Hypsipyle, the nurse of the king’s son Opheltes, led the heroes to a spring; but while 
 she was absent, her charge was slain by a serpent. Opheltes was buried by the heroes, 
 who founded the Nemean games in his honour, and his name was changed to 
 Archemoros. On the vase a figure in hunter’s dress throws a stone at a great serpent, 
 which is coiled among reeds, and vomits forth a cloud of smoke. On the left is part of 
 a youthful draped figure, that of Hypsipyle, and, near her, the toe of the hunter. The 
 figure of Archemoros is altogether wanting. It has been proposed to call the hunter 
 Hippomedon, since that hero is made to throw a great stone at the serpent by Statius 
 (Theb. v. 558). Drawn in reddish brown. The smoke vomited by the snake, and the 
 ground on which the figure stands, are represented by white pigment in relief. 
 
 
LIBRARY 
 
 Jc *SeY CITY.''- 0 '- 
 
2 9 
 
 PLATE XIX. 
 
 D 4. Kylix, found at Nola, about 1828. Ht. 5 inches. Diam. 12^- inches. Formerly in the Hope 
 and Bale Collections. Published in colours, Gerhard, Festgedanken an Winckelmann, 
 
 1841, pi. 1 ; Lenormant and De Witte, Elite Cdramographiique , iii. pi. 44. Restored are 
 
 the chief part of the head, right arm and hand of Athene, and most of the head 
 
 and body of Pandora. The hammer of Hephaestos is also partly restored (compare 
 
 drawing in Gerhard, l. c .). Subject, the decking of Pandora. The puppet-like figure 
 of Pandora stands in the middle and receives the gifts of Athene and Hephaestos. 
 Athene fastens her drapery over the shoulders, while Hephaestos appears to hold 
 a string attached to her diadem. According to Hesiod’s version of the myth, 
 Athene decked Pandora with a robe, and Hephaestos placed a golden diadem, made 
 by his own hands, on her head. (Hesiod, Theog. 573 ff.) 
 
 The figures are respectively inscribed ’A%aa, [’Aj^o-i'Swpa, and w H<£aioTos. Anesidora, 
 “she who sends up gifts,” is given by Hesychius as a name of Earth, to whom Pandora is 
 closely related in signification. The figures are drawn in brown varying to black, on a white 
 ground ; the draperies are purple of different shades, with patterns in white. 
 
S*® E * u Stjlo 
 LIBRARY 
 i Je ^cy citv.K- J l 
 
30 
 
 PLATE XX. 
 
 D 11. Pyxis-cover, from Eretria, with three equidistant rings on the upper edge and one in the 
 middle. Ht. 3 inches. Diam. 4$ inches. Subject, a marriage procession advancing 
 towards a burning altar. The procession is led by a woman with torches, a boy 
 playing the double flutes, the bridegroom leading the bride, two standing figures 
 (with a floral scroll between them), a second torchbearer, and a standing figure 
 holding an egg. The last two figures are drawn as if they were leading the 
 procession, rather than closing it. This, however, is a natural compromise, when 
 the subject runs completely round the vase. Painted in black and brownish out¬ 
 lines: the draperies are pink with darker folds of the same colour, or purple with 
 white folds, or black varying to brown. Purple is used for the flames on the altar, and 
 the sandals. The jewellery and other accessories are gilt. 
 
PL.XX 
 
tti®® 
 
 LIBRARY 
 
 Jf *SfV CITY."- J ‘ 
 
31 
 
 PLATE XXI. a. 
 
 D 26. Lekythos, from Eretria. Ht. gi inches. Subject, a girl, seated, looking at a lckythos 
 held in her left hand ; in her right hand is a fruit. Above her are a wreath and a 
 mirror, of which the handle alone is visible. Drawn in brown and black, with white 
 on the flesh. The colour of the drapery has faded. The palmettes are black on red 
 ground. 
 
 PLATE XXI. b. 
 
 D 14. Oinochoe, from Athens. Burgon Collection. Ht. 2o£ inches. Subject, Athene pouring out 
 wine for Heracles, who holds out a cup. He leans on his club, which is covered with 
 the lion’s skin, and rests on a rock. Inscribed ‘Aftj vala. Drawn in black and brownish- 
 yellow. Two rows of egg-mouldings and a series of palmettes are impressed on the 
 vase in relief. 
 
 384284 
 
32 
 
 PLATE XXII. 
 
 D 20. Lekythos. Ht. 14 inches. Subject, a woman seated, holding a small hoop. A cap with strings 
 and an ointment-flask hang one on each side of her. A large basket stands behind her 
 chair. Inscribed koKtj. Drawn in brownish black, with white flesh and accessories. 
 Hair black; mantle black, with pink details; dress pink, with brown details. The 
 palmettes on the shoulder are in the red-figure style. 
 
33 
 
 PLATE XXIII. a. 
 
 D 27. Lekythos. Ht. 7| inches. Subject, a woman moving to the right, holding in her hands a 
 jug and bowl. Drawn in black, with purple and brown bands below. 
 
 PLATE XXIII. b. 
 
 D 24. Lekythos, from Locri. Blacas Collection. Ht. n inches. Subject, Victory holding a wreath 
 above a flaming altar. Inscribed /ca[\7y]. Drawn in brown and black, with purple, pink, 
 and brown in the draperies, black and red in the flames; purple below the subject; 
 black-figure palmettes on the shoulder. 
 
ea “t-to 
 
 library 
 
 , J fssfy cm.* 1 J ' 
 
34 
 
 PLATE XXIV. 
 
 D 52. 
 
 Lekythos, from 
 Amazon in 
 
 Locri. Temple Collection. Ht. 14 inches. Subject, Greek and mounted 
 combat. Drawn in brown outline on white ground. 
 
PL XXIV 
 
35 
 
 PLATE XXV. a. . 
 
 D 66. Lekythos. Ht. 8|- inches. Subject, a young boy, in traveller’s dress, making a gesture 
 towards a tomb. Drawn in red, with yellow for the boots and hat; black ribands 
 attached to stele. 
 
 PLATE XXV. n. 
 
 D 76. Lekythos, from Athens. Ht. 9 inches. Journ. of Hellenic Studies, xv. pi. 7, p. 192. 
 
 Subject, woman with lekythos and dish of offerings. At her feet, a large basket. 
 Inscribed UaTpoK\(e) ^alpe, “ Farewell, Patroklos.” An explanation is perhaps supplied 
 by the Greek proverb, TlarpofcXog 7rpo^>acrts, “ Patroklos as a pretext,” which was applied 
 to those who, like the Trojan women in the tent of Achilles, wept their own sorrows 
 under colour of another name. (See Homer, Iliad, xix. 301 ; Journ. of Hellenic Studies, 
 loc. cit.) Drawn in black, with some red on the drapery and basket. 
 
36 
 
 PLATE XXVI. a. 
 
 D 23. Lekythos, from Gela. Ht. 11 inches. Subject, a female figure, perhaps a priestess of Athene, 
 standing near a temple, which is represented by a single Doric column. At her side 
 is a snake. Inscribed rj irals KaX-q. Drawn in black, varying to brown. Below, two 
 purple lines. 
 
 PLATE XXVI. b. 
 
 D 55. Lekythos, from Eretria. Ht. u-g- inches. Subject, parting scene, girl and youth con¬ 
 versing. The latter is in the dress of a traveller. A cap is seen hanging behind the 
 girl. Drawn in black varying to warm brown; purple on the draperies, accentuated 
 with black. The ground of the vase has been lightened on the plate. 
 
37 
 
 PLATE XXVII. 
 
 D 65. Lekythos. Ht. 15-} inches. Subject, two women making offerings at a tomb. Vases of 
 various forms are seen on the steps of the tomb, in the hands of the women, and 
 hanging in the background. At one side of the tomb is a basket, resting on a stool, 
 from which a woman draws some object, perhaps a sash. Drawn in brown outline, 
 with red for some of the draperies. 
 
PL.XXVII 
 
R "| 3 & 
 
 6 yjsJyi 
 
 J\r\ Rm. 
 
 Gve/s\2j&4