ATTRIBUTED TO THE LITTLE LION CLASS, CIRCA EARLY 5TH CENTURY B.C.

The Little Lion Class takes its name from a group of lekythoi which feature a tapering body incurving sharply above the foot and are most often decorated on their shoulders with lions, as here, or other miniature decoration. The class is closely associated with the work of the Sappho Painter, who may have invented the shape (see p. 149 in J. Boardman, Athenian Black Figure Vases).