A Black Figure Lekythos, Greek, circa 500 B.C.E. - 400 B.C.E.
H. 17 cm
KB_PT_1065
Further images
Provenance
The Private Collection of the Baidun FamilyMahmoud Baidun (1920-1980) founded what would become Khader M Badiun and Sons Galleries in Jerusalem, Isreal. As a young boy, Mahmoud would accompany archeologists, biblical scholars, and visiting delegations on excavation sites all over Jerusalem and other sites within the country. Earning the trust of scholars and archeologists alike, Mahmoud became an indispensable presence and guide to other visiting scholars. When Mr. Baidun entered the antiquities trade, he would be granted trade license under the British Mandate and from the Hashemite Kingdom. When Israel authorized the trade of antiquities, Mahmoud was issued one of the first antiquities licenses issued in the country. He would later forge close relationships with other merchants; slowly building a massive private collection that would go on to sell to political leaders, international museums, and private collectors globally.
Lekythoi were Greek storage vessels that commonly held olive oil. The narrow body and single handle made it convenient for retaining and pouring oil for culinary or medicinal purposes. This Lekythos contains a bold scene of a dark figure and his horse traversing the vessel’s circumference in snapshots of time.
Supported by a wide base, the Lekythos’ thin bottom rises smoothly along the length of its body before it abruptly turns in and narrows to a short neck. The neck’s base is marked by a series of thick black lines that seem animated as the ring around the vessel. The neck rises to a large mouth painted black that rests in a thick wedge atop the scene below.