Greece, Athens / 300s BCE
Gravestone in the Form of a Lekythos
The Cleveland Museum of Art catalogs Gravestone in the Form of a Lekythos as sculpture (Greece, Athens · 300s BCE).
Inscriptions identify three of the four standing figures sculpted in relief.
A CLOSER LOOK
The museum identifies this sculpture as marble.
The museum's collection notes: This grave marker takes the form of a lekythos, a type of vase (usually ceramic) commonly left as a grave offering in ancient Athens. Now fragmentary, it once had a foot below and a thin neck and vertical handle above. Five sculpted figures adorn its front. At left, an unnamed woman holds an infant. To their right, a woman, Lysistrate, clasps hands with a bearded man, Timophon. Between them stands a young girl, likely Kleippe, although her name is partially lost. The scene may commemorate Lysistrate’s death in childbirth, mourned by her husband and older child. Her newborn child apparently survived.
FOLLOW THE EVIDENCE
The Cleveland Museum of ArtGravestone in the Form of a LekythosOriginal explanation based on the sources above. Images carry their own reuse terms.