LEKYTHOS Glazed terracotta and white slip H. 26 cm Greece, Attica, circa 430 BC Provenance Private collection, Toulouse, acquired in 1977 from Galerie Georges N. Krimitsas Art Antique, Paris VII. Black glazed spout, neck and foot. The shoulder decorated with palmettes and foliage. Below, a frieze of Greek and crosses. The body is decorated with a standing woman wearing a chiton, facing right and offering a basket of fruit in the direction of a stele decorated with a knot. On the other side of the stele, a man dressed in a toga and red cloak is holding a ribbon. The shoulder of the vase is decorated with spiral palmettes. Scattered integral and reconstructive restorations, mainly under the handle. Despite the restorations, this vase remains a rare model of lekythoi with a white base, which was only used in a ritual or commemorative context. It was intended to contain perfumed oils. It often accompanied the deceased to the grave or was used for libations during visits to the tomb. Its refined decoration, painted on a delicate white background, evokes scenes of contemplation, farewells or offerings, illustrating the piety of the living and the memory of the dead. A Greek Attic white-ground lekythos. Ca. 430 B.C.