Lekythos. Greek culture. Attica, ca.480 BC. Ceramics

Lekythos. Greek culture. Attica, ca.480 BC.
Ceramic, black figures.
Provenance: private collection J.Martà , Barcelona. Purchased at the Madrid art market, 2012. Former private collection of the Spanish painter Ignacio Zuloaga (1870-1938).
Attributed to the painter from Halmon.
Publications: catalogue of the exhibition "Ingnacio Zuloaga. a collection of classical archaeology. J.Bagot gallery, Archaeology Ancient Art Barcelona 2013.
Exhibitions: exhibited in the private collection at the Zuloaga house-museum in Zumaya.
Conservation: intact.
Measurements: 22.6 cm. high.
Greek ceramic lekythos decorated with the black figures technique. The lekythos is a type of Greek pottery used to store perfumed oil for body care. This type of vessel was also widely used as a funerary vessel. It is characterised by its elongated shape, narrow neck and wide mouth, which both limits the flow of the oil and facilitates its application. The black-figure ware technique is a style of painting from ancient Greek pottery in which the decoration is silhouetted in black on a red background. It owes its name to the fact that, before the vessel was fired, the ceramographer painted the silhouettes of the figures in black, indicating the external details with a skilful and rich set of very fine incisions - using a metal or bone point - which revealed the natural colour of the clay, adding, where necessary, a few touches of white and dark red.