Vase Catalog Number: Philadelphia MS5463

Decoration:

Mistress and maid. A woman is seated on a chair weaving a wreath while another woman stands holding a basket. The woman, or 'mistress,' on the left is shown in profile, sitting on a chair facing right. Her head is bent slightly as she concentrates on the unfinished wreath (or necklace) in her hands. She wears a chiton painted with white wash and a white himation, and has an additional piece of cloth wrapped under her bust and falling to mid-calf. She may also wear a wreath on her head. Her skin and himation are painted in added white. The woman, or 'maid,' on the right stands facing forward, her head turned toward the seated woman. Her right arm hangs at her side, and she holds a wide, flat basket in her left hand; white and black ribbons and fillets hang from the basket. The standing woman has short curly hair and wears a simple chiton which falls to mid-thigh. Beneath this she wears a crinkly, ankle-length tunic. Several objects hang on the wall behind the women. On the far left a pouch or sakkos hangs on the wall. A mirror hangs directly above the seated woman, and a lekythos hangs on the far right. There is a painted inscription above and between the two women.

Inscriptions:

The inscription above the figures reads: DIPHILOS KALOS, Diphilos is beautiful.

Collection History:

The lekythos was part of the Borelli Bey Collection, which was dispersed in Paris in 1913. It was number 223 in the Borelli Bey sale catalogue. It was later purchased from Canessa in 1916 by the University Museum, Philadelphia.

Condition:

The vase is worn; many of the details and much of the added white are now gone.

Sources Used:

Luce 1917a, 15-28

Other Bibliography:

Borelli Bey 1913, 23, no. 223; Luce 1917, 21-28; Luce 1919, 19-32; Beazley 1928a, 49; ARV2, 642, 118.

(Kathleen Krattenmaker)