CLASSICAL PERIOD, CIRCA 4TH CENTURY B.C.

Details

A GREEK MARBLE FUNERARY LEKYTHOS
CLASSICAL PERIOD, CIRCA 4TH CENTURY B.C.
37 in. (94 cm.) high

Provenance

Nicolas Koutoulakis (1910-1996), Paris and Geneva, acquired prior to 1973; thence by descent to the present owner.

Special notice

This lot has been imported from outside of the UK for sale and placed under the Temporary Admission regime. Import VAT is payable at 5% on the hammer price. VAT at 20% will be added to the buyer’s premium but will not be shown separately on our invoice. Following the auction, this lot will be stored at Crozier Park Royal and will be available for collection from 12.00pm on the second business day after the sale. Please call Christie’s Client Service 24 hours in advance to book a collection time at Crozier Park Royal. All collections from Crozier Park Royal will be by pre-booked appointment only. Tel: +44 (0)20 7839 9060 I Email: cscollectionsuk@christies.com.

Conditions of sale

Brought to you by

Claudio Corsi Specialist, Head of Department

ccorsi@christies.com +44 (0) 20 7389 2607

Lot Essay

The practice of using marble lekythoi as grave markers and as part of the sculptural decoration of the family plots in Attic cemeteries began at the end of the fifth century B.C. The shape was appropriate as lekythoi were vases used exlusively to hold oil, which played an important part in funerary rituals. Some were plain, while others had painted designs or sculpted reliefs, as with this example.

The front of the funerary vessel is sculpted in shallow relief with a departure scene, showing a woman and a man clasping hands. The draped woman, who extends her hand to the bearded man to the right, is seated on a klismos, with a figure standing behind her. There is an unintelligible Greek inscription incised above. For a similar sculpted lekythos, cf. no. 26 in J. B. Grossman, Greek Funerary Sculpture, Catalogue of the Collections at the Getty Villa, 2001.

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