A horseman rides towards a rock, with a tomb monument behind him. On the shoulder, abstract decoration of dashes above curved strokes. Part of the neck and most of the mouth restored, the red paint faded.

Unlike black-figure and red-figure vases, those decorated in the white-ground technique were painted after firing. As a result, the colours are often faded or rubbed. The scene on this lekythos (oil flask) is now barely visible. The mounted horseman is identifiable as a warrior from his spear and helmet. The tall structure to the right is almost certainly a tomb monument. White-figure lekythoi were typically used in a funerary context and their imagery often reflects this, though the significance of this particular scene is unclear.

 

Literature: J. Falconer and T. Mannack, Corpus Vasorum Antiquorum: Great Britain, Fascicule 19: Winchester College (Oxford, 2002), pp. 11-12, plate 9.10-13; J.D. Beazley, Attic Red-Figure Vase-Painters 2^nd edn. (Oxford, 1963), 762.32; D.C. Kurtz, Athenian White Lekythoi (Oxford, 1975), p. 83 n.4; Winchester College Memorial Buildings: Department of Classical Art (Winchester, 1909), p. 18 (no. 48)

Provenance: From Eretria, at Winchester College by 1909

Location: Treasury, Gallery 3