The displayed lekythos was discovered during the excavations at the Bolshoi Kastel Estate. The lekythos is one of the most common forms of vessels in Greek ceramics, and it was widely used in both everyday life and for funerary purposes. These lekythoses were often buried with the dead, and on days of commemoration, relatives would bring them to the tomb, along with other offerings.

As early as the beginning of the 6th century BCE, lekythoses were spherical or spindle-shaped containers, but later they evolved into more cylindrical shapes. According to custom, lekythoses were filled to the brim with oil when presented as a gift to the dead. To save oil, some funerary lekythoses were provided with special devices that limited their capacity, allowing relatives to spend less money on oil.

In the following centuries, oil vessels were used, which were somewhat different from the slender, cylindrical lekythoses. These squat vessels are commonly referred to as aryballos lekythoses. They were usually small and painted in an artisanal style. In aryballos lekythoses of the 3rd century BCE, the mouth is made integral with the neck. The skill of creating white-ground vessels occupied an important place in the history of classical Greek art. As those products were directly related to funerary rites, they often depicted mournful human figures, which were supposed to evoke a sense of loss in the viewer.

Many artifacts have been preserved in an area of Athens known as Kerameikos, where the city cemetery used to be located. At the site, Attic ceramic objects were produced. Now, there is no doubt that these artifacts provide researchers with extensive information in encoded form. The lekythos on display here features clearly visible horizontal stripes. These stripes, which are of a typical Greek ornament, divide the vessel’s body into pictorial friezes and carry the maximum semantic load, bringing the image into a sacred area.