DATE: c. 550

NAME OF PAINTER / POTTER: Attributed to the 17AmasisbandBlackclothDepthdisappearedembroideredfleshGreekhandleftlekythosloommarriageoilprofilerightscalesseatedshuttleslipspindlespinningstyleweddingwomenwool[?] Painter

SIZE: 17AmasisbandBlackclothDepthdisappearedembroideredfleshGreekhandleftlekythosloommarriageoilprofilerightscalesseatedshuttleslipspindlespinningstyleweddingwomenwool[?] cm

SHAPE / FUNCTION: This vessel is a 17AmasisbandBlackclothDepthdisappearedembroideredfleshGreekhandleftlekythosloommarriageoilprofilerightscalesseatedshuttleslipspindlespinningstyleweddingwomenwool[?], a small container for olive 17AmasisbandBlackclothDepthdisappearedembroideredfleshGreekhandleftlekythosloommarriageoilprofilerightscalesseatedshuttleslipspindlespinningstyleweddingwomenwool[?].
INSCRIPTIONS: The Amasis Painter did not always sign his work - attributed to him by 17AmasisbandBlackclothDepthdisappearedembroideredfleshGreekhandleftlekythosloommarriageoilprofilerightscalesseatedshuttleslipspindlespinningstyleweddingwomenwool[?].

BASIC TECHNIQUE: 17AmasisbandBlackclothDepthdisappearedembroideredfleshGreekhandleftlekythosloommarriageoilprofilerightscalesseatedshuttleslipspindlespinningstyleweddingwomenwool[?] figure

TOPIC / THEME / NARRATIVE: The decoration shows a scene of women making 17AmasisbandBlackclothDepthdisappearedembroideredfleshGreekhandleftlekythosloommarriageoilprofilerightscalesseatedshuttleslipspindlespinningstyleweddingwomenwool[?]. In the scene shown, the action flows from 17AmasisbandBlackclothDepthdisappearedembroideredfleshGreekhandleftlekythosloommarriageoilprofilerightscalesseatedshuttleslipspindlespinningstyleweddingwomenwool[?] to 17AmasisbandBlackclothDepthdisappearedembroideredfleshGreekhandleftlekythosloommarriageoilprofilerightscalesseatedshuttleslipspindlespinningstyleweddingwomenwool[?]:
* a single woman stands, apparently directing the others with 17AmasisbandBlackclothDepthdisappearedembroideredfleshGreekhandleftlekythosloommarriageoilprofilerightscalesseatedshuttleslipspindlespinningstyleweddingwomenwool[?] gestures.
* one woman stands in front of her, lifting bundles of 17AmasisbandBlackclothDepthdisappearedembroideredfleshGreekhandleftlekythosloommarriageoilprofilerightscalesseatedshuttleslipspindlespinningstyleweddingwomenwool[?] from a basket and placing them on a large pair of 17AmasisbandBlackclothDepthdisappearedembroideredfleshGreekhandleftlekythosloommarriageoilprofilerightscalesseatedshuttleslipspindlespinningstyleweddingwomenwool[?] held by a female companion.
* the focus is the large upright 17AmasisbandBlackclothDepthdisappearedembroideredfleshGreekhandleftlekythosloommarriageoilprofilerightscalesseatedshuttleslipspindlespinningstyleweddingwomenwool[?] with two women weaving. One pushes the 17AmasisbandBlackclothDepthdisappearedembroideredfleshGreekhandleftlekythosloommarriageoilprofilerightscalesseatedshuttleslipspindlespinningstyleweddingwomenwool[?] across the loom while the other beats the 17AmasisbandBlackclothDepthdisappearedembroideredfleshGreekhandleftlekythosloommarriageoilprofilerightscalesseatedshuttleslipspindlespinningstyleweddingwomenwool[?] fibre up into position.
* to the left of the loom stands a second pair of women - one unravels the bundle of wool into a basket to prepare it for 17AmasisbandBlackclothDepthdisappearedembroideredfleshGreekhandleftlekythosloommarriageoilprofilerightscalesseatedshuttleslipspindlespinningstyleweddingwomenwool[?] while the other spins it with a hanging 17AmasisbandBlackclothDepthdisappearedembroideredfleshGreekhandleftlekythosloommarriageoilprofilerightscalesseatedshuttleslipspindlespinningstyleweddingwomenwool[?].
* two women fold an 17AmasisbandBlackclothDepthdisappearedembroideredfleshGreekhandleftlekythosloommarriageoilprofilerightscalesseatedshuttleslipspindlespinningstyleweddingwomenwool[?] cloth between them. A pile of cloth sits on the stool in front of them, already folded.
* the narrative concludes with two women unravelling bundles of wool, one 17AmasisbandBlackclothDepthdisappearedembroideredfleshGreekhandleftlekythosloommarriageoilprofilerightscalesseatedshuttleslipspindlespinningstyleweddingwomenwool[?], the other standing.

Textile historians have used this image to reconstruct 17AmasisbandBlackclothDepthdisappearedembroideredfleshGreekhandleftlekythosloommarriageoilprofilerightscalesseatedshuttleslipspindlespinningstyleweddingwomenwool[?] weaving techniques. Weights tied to the ends of the warp threads hold them taut, and the weavers pass the weft threads back and forth across them. Very few Greek textiles survive, but some of the women depicted on the vase wear fancy-patterned clothing, and Greek literature offers descriptions of bright-colored garments, cushiony blankets, and splendid hangings woven with scenes from mythology.

The making of textiles was one of women's most important occupations in ancient Greece. A good weaver was considered an attractive woman and also a good wife. Homer describes Penelope, the devoted wife of Odysseus, busy at the loom day after day. This lekythos seems to link weaving with 17AmasisbandBlackclothDepthdisappearedembroideredfleshGreekhandleftlekythosloommarriageoilprofilerightscalesseatedshuttleslipspindlespinningstyleweddingwomenwool[?]. Just above the loom on the shoulder of the vessel, you see a seated woman holding out a circular 17AmasisbandBlackclothDepthdisappearedembroideredfleshGreekhandleftlekythosloommarriageoilprofilerightscalesseatedshuttleslipspindlespinningstyleweddingwomenwool[?] associated with brides in Greek art.

At the New York Metropolitan Museum, the lekythos stands beside another of identical form decorated by the same painter, who has been called the Amasis Painter. The other lekythos has a 17AmasisbandBlackclothDepthdisappearedembroideredfleshGreekhandleftlekythosloommarriageoilprofilerightscalesseatedshuttleslipspindlespinningstyleweddingwomenwool[?] procession painted on its surface. The wedding was the defining moment in an Athenian girl's life, and the pair of lekythoi may have been a wedding present for an Athenian bride in the sixth century B.C.

STYLE:
All figures are presented in 17AmasisbandBlackclothDepthdisappearedembroideredfleshGreekhandleftlekythosloommarriageoilprofilerightscalesseatedshuttleslipspindlespinningstyleweddingwomenwool[?], though poses vary according to the activity. 17AmasisbandBlackclothDepthdisappearedembroideredfleshGreekhandleftlekythosloommarriageoilprofilerightscalesseatedshuttleslipspindlespinningstyleweddingwomenwool[?] is indicated by placing two women in front of the 17AmasisbandBlackclothDepthdisappearedembroideredfleshGreekhandleftlekythosloommarriageoilprofilerightscalesseatedshuttleslipspindlespinningstyleweddingwomenwool[?]. The women's 17AmasisbandBlackclothDepthdisappearedembroideredfleshGreekhandleftlekythosloommarriageoilprofilerightscalesseatedshuttleslipspindlespinningstyleweddingwomenwool[?] would have been painted with white 17AmasisbandBlackclothDepthdisappearedembroideredfleshGreekhandleftlekythosloommarriageoilprofilerightscalesseatedshuttleslipspindlespinningstyleweddingwomenwool[?] but this has now 17AmasisbandBlackclothDepthdisappearedembroideredfleshGreekhandleftlekythosloommarriageoilprofilerightscalesseatedshuttleslipspindlespinningstyleweddingwomenwool[?]. The drapery is quite solid but the painter has tried to emphasise the 17AmasisbandBlackclothDepthdisappearedembroideredfleshGreekhandleftlekythosloommarriageoilprofilerightscalesseatedshuttleslipspindlespinningstyleweddingwomenwool[?]'s figures.