Lekythos with a Visit to a Grave

<p>The women of the family were responsible for tending the graves of the dead and are frequently depicted on delicate "lekythoi," or oil-containers, such as this one, carrying out this activity. A mourning woman bends over a tomb, as a youth approaches her unseen. He represents the deceased, whom the Greeks believed lingered near the tomb after death. Many "lekythoi" intended for funerary use were decorated in the delicate white-ground technique, which used colorful pigments lightly painted on a white background. The pigments flake off easily, often leaving only the preliminary drawing, as on the woman's dress here.</p><p>For the latest information about this object, <cite><a href='https://purl.thewalters.org/art/48.2012' rel='external'>Lekythos with a Visit to a Grave</a></cite>, visit the Online Collection of the Walters Art Museum.</p>