Gravestone in the Form of a Lekythos

300s BC

Gravestone in the Form of a Lekythos, 300s BC. Greece, Athens, 4th Century BC. Marble; overall: 53.7 cm (21 1/8 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of J. H. Wade 1925.1342 This grave marker takes the form of a lekythos, a type of vase (usually ceramic) commonly left as a grave offering in ancient Athens. Now fragmentary, it once had a foot below and a thin neck and vertical handle above. Five sculpted figures adorn its front. At left, an unnamed woman holds an infant. To their right, a woman, Lysistrate, clasps hands with a bearded man, Timophon. Between them stands a young girl, likely Kleippe, although her name is partially lost. The scene may commemorate Lysistrate’s death in childbirth, mourned by her husband and older child. Her newborn child apparently survived. Inscriptions identify three of the four standing figures sculpted in relief.