Funerary Lekythos Monument of Polyxena and Polyarchos
Artist
Unknown Greek artist
, Attic
Datecirca 375–350 BCE
MediumPentelic marble
Dimensions18 1/4 x 9 3/4 x 9 3/4 in. (46.4 x 24.8 x 24.8 cm)
ClassificationsSculpture
Credit LineGift of Mr. and Mrs. Gordon Hanes
Object number91.5
On View
On viewOriginally, this solid marble vase probably stood nearly thirty-three inches tall with a long, slender neck and attached handle. It was set up on the terrace surrounding a family’s burial plot. The seated man and woman are identified by the Greek inscription carved above their heads: Polyarchos and Polyxena
Ultraviolet light under laboratory conditions reveals traces of the original painted decoration. Part of one floral form remains on the shoulder of the case. On its body are a Greek key pattern and an egg-and-dart design, painted versions of moldings employed in ancient architecture.ProvenanceProvenience unknown. [McAlpine Ancient Art, London]; Mr. Gordon Hanes (1916–1995) and Mrs. Helen Copenhaver “Copey” Hanes (1917–2013), Winston-Salem, NC, 1985; given to NCMA, 1991.Published ReferencesSteven Litt, "Art museum buys two works: donors give five more," Raleigh: The News and Observer (January 10, 1991), 4b.
Gazette des Beaux-Arts no. 1478 (March 1992), 112.
L. E. [Lisa Eveleigh], "Private Collectors Share Their Art," North Carolina Museum of Art Preview (Autumn 1992), mentioned 12-13.
John Bodel and Stephen Tracy, Greek and Latin Inscriptions in the USA: A Checklist (New York: American Academy in Rome, 19970, 141.
Mary Ellen Soles, entry for Lekythos, in North Carolina Museum of Art: Handbook of the Collections, Rebecca Martin Nagy, ed. (Raleigh: North Carolina Museum of Art, 1998), 28, illus. (color).
Mary Ellen Soles, entry for Lekythos, in North Carolina Museum of Art: Handbook of the Collections, rev. ed. (Raleigh: North Carolina Museum of Art, 2010), 56, illus. (color) 57.
Exhibition HistoryRaleigh, NC, North Carolina Museum of Art, “Art for the People: Recent Museum Acquisitions,” September 14, 1997-January 4, 1998. (Closing date extended to January 25, 1998)
Raleigh, NC, North Carolina Museum of Art, "The People's Collection, Reimagined," October 7, 2022–present. Object Rights Statement
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Unknown Roman artist
circa 20 BCE–20 CE
