APC Image: AK 1151Lekythos of Six's Technique from Well V. The handle and the neck are entirely missing, and large part of the body have been restored in plaster. The opaque colors, applied over the black glaze, have entirely disappeared, leaving only shadowy outlines of the figures and marks of the incisions. Two colors, presumably a creamy white and some shade of red, were used, leaving slightly different outlines on the black glaze, but in the present condition of the vase it is practically impossible to determine with any degree of certainty the distribution of the two colors. The decorations, both on the body and on the shoulder of the vase, are confined to the front. The main scene consists of a figure of Aktaion, attacked by four dogs. He is represented entirely nude, running toward the right but looking back at the attacking dogs. His hair, which was not the same color as the body, was presumably painted white and the body red. The dogs are conceived of as running up on him from the rear, their heads being partly hidden behind the body of Aktaion. But the desire of the artist to represent all the figures in profile, has led him to arrange the dogs, two on either side, clinging to him high above the ground. If we are right in assuming that Aktaion was painted red or brown, all the dogs were probably white. Details were added by fine incised lines through which the opaque colors were scratched away exposing the black glaze underneath. These incisions do not appear as fine shiny lines on the black glqaze, but some of the details on the figure of Aktaion are rendered by deeper lines extending into the surface of the clay. Below the decoration was a fine line, probably purple. The shoulder decoration consists of a palmette of alternating white and red leaves, the spiral on either side of which ends in a bud. The composition of the scene is very simple, but the figures are drawn with a sureness of form and attention to detail rarely encountered in vases decorated in this technique. The lively motion of the dogs and the frightened, helpless gesture of Aktaion are portrayed with a vividness and accuracy which the loss of the colors has not entirely obliterated. Most of the fragments of the lekythos were found near the bottom of Well V together with the pieces of the Exekias krater, but some came from a depth of only 7 m. The varying depths at which the fragments of this vase were discovered show beyond a doubt that the Well was filled up at one time.
Object Description:   Lekythos of Six's Technique from Well V. The handle and the neck are entirely missing, and large part of the body have been restored in plaster. The opaque colors, applied over the black glaze, have entirely disappeared, leaving only shadowy outlines of the figures and marks of the incisions. Two colors, presumably a creamy white and some shade of red, were used, leaving slightly different outlines on the black glaze, but in the present condition of the vase it is practically impossible to determine with any degree of certainty the distribution of the two colors. The decorations, both on the body and on the shoulder of the vase, are confined to the front. The main scene consists of a figure of Aktaion, attacked by four dogs. He is represented entirely nude, running toward the right but looking back at the attacking dogs. His hair, which was not the same color as the body, was presumably painted white and the body red. The dogs are conceived of as running up on him from the rear, their heads being partly hidden behind the body of Aktaion. But the desire of the artist to represent all the figures in profile, has led him to arrange the dogs, two on either side, clinging to him high above the ground. If we are right in assuming that Aktaion was painted red or brown, all the dogs were probably white. Details were added by fine incised lines through which the opaque colors were scratched away exposing the black glaze underneath. These incisions do not appear as fine shiny lines on the black glqaze, but some of the details on the figure of Aktaion are rendered by deeper lines extending into the surface of the clay. Below the decoration was a fine line, probably purple. The shoulder decoration consists of a palmette of alternating white and red leaves, the spiral on either side of which ends in a bud. The composition of the scene is very simple, but the figures are drawn with a sureness of form and attention to detail rarely encountered in vases decorated in this technique. The lively motion of the dogs and the frightened, helpless gesture of Aktaion are portrayed with a vividness and accuracy which the loss of the colors has not entirely obliterated. Most of the fragments of the lekythos were found near the bottom of Well V together with the pieces of the Exekias krater, but some came from a depth of only 7 m. The varying depths at which the fragments of this vase were discovered show beyond a doubt that the Well was filled up at one time.
Negative Number:   AK 1151
Category:   Pottery
Subcategory:   Lekythos
Site:   Acropolis, North Slope
City:   Athens
Region:   Attica
Country:   Greece
Date:   1937
Format:   Interpositive
Dimensions:   17.5 X 12.5
Bibliography:   Hesperia 7 (1938), p. 193, fig. 29.
Repository:   ASCSA ARCHIVES
Collection Title:   Archaeological Photographic Collection
Series:   AK
Image Width:   1529
Image Height:   2117