Attic Red-Figured Lekythos

Private collection, Germany, 1970s.

Intact, some very minor surface wear and firing loss to decoration, minor loss to glaze on shoulder rim and small surface chip below foot of seated figure.

In ancient Greece the word for beauty, "kallos", was a concept that combined both the physical and the virtuoso. Often referring to young men, this ideal could be embodied by both sexes and did not discriminate between the ages.

Small vessels displaying youthful males were very popular in ancient Athens. They often showed youths excelling in athletic or musical feats. Playing the lyre, the youth on this vase recalls the god Apollo, the god of music, who is often associated with the stringed instrument and himself depicted as the ideal male beauty.