Attic White-Ground Lekythos with Hermes and Woman 30 cm

This vessel reproduces a celebrated Attic white-ground lekythos attributed to the workshop of the Phiale Painter, active in Athens during the later mid-5th century BCE. The original example is preserved in the Munich Museum of Antiquities and is documented by the Classical Art Research Centre.

The ancient vessel was made of terracotta using the white-ground painting technique, a refined method frequently used for funerary lekythoi in Classical Athens. These oil flasks were placed in graves and used to hold small amounts of perfumed oil offered to the deceased.

The scene depicts Hermes, messenger of the gods and guide of souls, seated beside the rocky landscape of the River Styx. Holding his caduceus, he gestures toward a woman who adjusts a crown upon her head while approaching the tomb monument decorated with ribbons. This solemn imagery reflects Greek beliefs about the journey to the afterlife and the role of Hermes as psychopompos, the divine guide of the dead