Lekitos. Attica culture, Greece, 6th century BC.

Lekitos. Attica culture, Greece, 6th century BC.
Red pottery with black figures technique.
Provenance: Georges Savès collection.
Measurements: 18.5 cm (height).

Lekythos of slightly elongated cylindrical body, high and narrow neck culminating in a flat exvasado edge, with a single vertical handle that connects the shoulder with the edge. Decorated using the black figure technique, very characteristic of the Greek archaic period, with incised details that enrich the representation. The main scene shows a chariot pulled by a pair of horses and guided by an armed charioteer, accompanied by a male figure in profile suggesting a ceremonial context, possibly funerary or heroic.
The figural frieze is framed by an upper fretwork (meander) and radial motifs on the shoulder, completed by black horizontal bands on the lower part of the body and the foot. The varnish shows some losses, especially on the base and the handle, with mineral concretions compatible with its age.
This type of vessel was used in domestic and ritual contexts, particularly in funerary offerings, where perfumed oils were deposited for the deceased.

This piece comes from the collection of Georges Savès (1908-1985), a French numismatist and collector with a deep vocation for archaeological study. Heir to a family tradition of collecting, he devoted himself fully to historical and numismatic research since the 1950s, especially on Toulouse and Gallic coins. Throughout his life, he assembled an eclectic collection of archaeological, ethnographic and artistic pieces, enriched in 1966 with the acquisition of part of the Roger Bédiat collection. Author of specialized studies, his legacy remains a reference in the academic and patrimonial fields.