Lekythos (Attic red-figure ware)
450 BCE
Medium
earthenware
Measurements
43.3 × 12.4 × 12.2 cm
Credit Line
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Felton Bequest, 1980
© Public Domain
Gallery location
18th Century Decorative Arts - Great Hall Costume Corridor
Level 2, NGV International
Artwork Details
Place/s of Execution
Attica, Greece
Accession Number
D394-1980
Department
Antiquities
This digital record has been made available on NGV Collection Online through the generous support of Digitisation Champion Ms Carol Grigor through Metal Manufactures Limited
Physical description
Tall, slender-bodied vessel with a pronounced, angular shoulder and cup-mouth; a single handle. Decorated in lustrous black-glaze, with a red-figure scene of Oedipus and the Sphinx. The Sphinx sits to the left, with a youthful human head with curly hair, the body of a lion, and wings. To the right stands Oedipus, wearing a cloak and petasos behind his neck and holding a tall staff in the centre. Below the scene is a zigzag border. Above is a band of meander and saltires. On the shoulder are three black-figure palmettes. The exterior edge of the foot is reserved.