Lekythos Grave Marker Depicting “Leave Taking”

Date

4th century BCE

Creator

In its present condition, with its flat back and roughly rectangular shape, this piece resembles a carved stele. The profile of its sculpted surface, however, which is convex both horizontally and vertically, suggests something very different, and its surface treatment indicates that the form of the monument was altered subsequent to its original use: wherever the surface is finely smoothed, the marble’s tan patina (acquired by long exposure to the elements) is present; however, along its two vertical edges, its upper edge, and its back, the patina is missing and the surface is very roughly worked, often preserving deep grooves left by a kind of claw chisel or multiple point. Though fragmentary, the preserved form of the marble is consistent with that of carved lekythoi, in its convexly curved body, relief figures, and vestigial remains of a narrow neck. [...] Without question, the Snite lekythos originally stood on a grave, but the absence of an identifying inscription above any of the figures in the relief indicates that it did not serve as the principal marker for its grave but as a secondary monument in a larger funerary grouping. This subsidiary use of marble lekythoi became much more common after 350 BCE and might suggest a general date for the Snite piece. The practice of producing marble grave reliefs continued into the later fourth century BCE, until Demetrios Poliorketes, the governor of Athens from 317 to 307 BCE, put an end to these lavish displays with a sumptuary decree. The low-relief scene on the front of the Snite piece depicts three figures positioned on a clearly delineated ground line. The figures are separated into two distinct groups: a standing female and a seated female on the left, and a standing male on the right, facing the others. The two groups are connected by a handshake (dexiosis) between the man and the seated woman. Here is an example of the most common type of representation found on marble lekythoi of Attica: a scene of "leave taking," in which the living bid farewell to the recently deceased or, perhaps, two parties separated by death are reunited. In this type of scene, the distinction between the living and the dead is ambiguous. Both wear similar clothing and behave in familiar ways. Only when an inscribed label is preserved can the figure of the deceased be identified with certainty, though it can be assumed that it is a foreground figure. Often the seated figure is identified as the deceased, but not always. Thus, on the Snite piece, either the seated woman or the standing man (her husband?) might represent the deceased. In fact, the strict omission of any distinguishing features between living and dead suggests the intentional blurring of lines between the two states of being. The handshake further stresses the link between the two by physically binding them. from Rhodes, Eclectic Antiquity: The Classical Collection of the Snite Museum of Art (Notre Dame, 2010)