A tall and elegant lekythos, decorated with a white-ground body, tapering down to the foot. Two figures flank a grave stele adorned with ribbons. On the right, a man holds ribbons, while on the left, a woman approaches the stele, carrying a wreath atop a wicker basket. The neck is finished with black slip above a band of palm leaves, and the vessel rests on a broad foot decorated with red slip.

This type of lekythos, which prominently features the white-ground technique—a process involving the application of a kaolinite slip—is believed to have been used in funerary processions. Resplendent in its white finish, oil jars of this type often depict funerary themes, such as this example, where figures bring offerings to a grave stele. Attributed to the 'Woman Painter,' aptly named for their striking depictions of women, close comparisons can be drawn to other vases in Kurtz’s extensive study of the type. Another close example is housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art (Acc. 06.1169).

D. C. Kurtz, Athenian white lekythoi. Oxford University Press, 1993. p. 57 & 189.