Lot 27
Greece, Athens, ca. 550 to 500 BCE. A breathtaking pottery lekythos boasting a graceful silhouette and a red-figure decoration of a dancing female follower of Dionysus known as a maenad. Draped in a pleated chiton and wrapped himation, the woman strides to her right, raising the heel of her left foot as she gazes left and extends both hands in a type of ecstatic dance. Her coiffure is pulled back in an elegant chignon granting her a graceful profile, while a fillet hangs in the field behind and a pyxis is shown on the ground line. Meander motif adorns above the figure while double rays embellish the shoulder. Size: 2.7" Diameter x 7.7" H (6.9 cm x 19.6 cm)
In ancient Greece, the Maenads were the most important members of Dionysus's retinue; their Roman equivalent was the female entourage of Bacchus, the Bacchantes, who are often shown wearing fawn skin and cavorting drunkenly with various beasts of the forest.
Lekythoi were used for storing oil used for a wide variety of purposes in the Classical World. While larger examples were usually designated for keeping olive oil, smaller more delicate examples were reserved for the bath to store precious unguents of sweet and floral aromas.
This vase was exhibited at the Amarillo Arts Center in Amarillo, Texas, USA from January 12th to February 24th, 1991.
Provenance: private Abilene, Texas, USA collection, deaccessioned from the Grace Museum, Abilene, Texas, USA in 2024, and gifted to the museum in 1981; ex-Mr. and Mrs. Foy Clement collection, Abilene, Texas, USA
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#190463
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Condition:
- Neck, handle, and foot have been professionally repaired with some break lines slightly visible and repainting in these areas. About 1/3 of spout professionally restored. Some age-expected nicks and abrasions as shown. Otherwise, nice presentation with good remaining detail and earthen encrustations to interior.
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