Red-Figure Squat Lekythos (Oil Vessel): Eros and Woman

c. 400–380 BC

Red-Figure Squat Lekythos (Oil Vessel): Eros and Woman, c. 400–380 BC. Greek, Attic. Ceramic; overall: 11.7 cm (4 5/8 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund 1926.553 This miniature oil vessel dates to the early fourth century BC, a time when red-figure vase painters become more liberal in the use of added white and other colors. Here, both Eros and the woman he pursues have white skin, with blue adorning her garment and his wings, and light brown coloring the added clay used for their jewelry, headbands, and the fronts of his wings. A large red-figure palmette, flanked by tendrils and half-palmettes, occupies the back of the vase. Added clay pellets help to define the figures’ jewelry and other elements, including the ornament above.