| Collection: | Museum of Fine Arts, Boston |
| Title: | Marble Lekythos of Philinna |
| Context: | Probably from Attica |
| Summary: | A mourning woman and a bearded man (Phanostratos), standing around a seated woman (Philinna), bidding farewell |
| Object Function: | Funerary |
| Material: | Marble |
| Sculpture Type: | Relief-decorated vessel |
| Category: | Single sculpture |
| Style: | Late Classical |
| Technique: | Low relief |
| Original or Copy: | Original |
| Date: | +- 10 370 BC |
| Dimensions: | H. (as mounted) 0.25 m; W. (max.) 0.25 m |
| Scale: | Miniature (pictorial field) |
| Region: | Attica |
| Period: | Late Classical |
Subject Description:
A short-haired woman stands in a 3/4-view to the right, with her weight on her left leg, and her right leg bent. She rests her head on her left hand, while she cradles her left elbow in her right arm, which is folded across her waist. She wears a mantle which almost completely covers her body, although the hem of her chiton (undergarment) emerges beneath, and her forearms are visible. A second woman, Philinna, sits profile to the right in a klismos (a backed chair, with splaying legs). She holds her left hand to her neck, and shakes her right hand with the left hand of the man opposite her. Some wavy hair emerges from beneath her mantle, which is draped over her lap and both shoulders, as well as her head. Her undergarment is visible only on her chest. A bearded man, Phanostratos, stands 3/4-view to the left, with weight on his right leg, his left hand held at his waist, while he shakes his right hand with that of the seated woman. He wears a himation draped over his left shoulder, across his waist, and bunched over his left forearm. The handshake signifies the departure of one of these figures, probably the seated one, to the afterlife. The woman standing behind is a mourner, probably a servant as indicated by her short hair. Such monuments stood in family burial plots, and could serve to mark the tombs of more than one person, perhaps even the entire family.
Form & Style:
The figures are carved in low relief, with schematic, angular drapery. Anatomy is proportional, but not detailed.
Condition: Intact
Condition Description: A single piece comprising the front-right portion of the body of the loutrophoros, broken at top and bottom. The surface has some solution cracks and is slightly scratched and stained, with pinkish-brown stains. There are also chips around the upper and lower edges.
Material Description:
Pentelic marble (MFA cat.)
Inscription: The second two figures are named, by inscription, above each of their heads:
Inscription Bibliography: SEG 28.352
Collection History: Previously in a collection in France (?). Acquired from a private collection in Switzerland in 1972.
Sources Used:
Other Bibliography: