Phoenix Ancient Art S.A.

This beautiful lekythos is one of the few surviving pieces of pottery that portrays the myth of King Boreas. The design is skillfully executed on a white ground and is remarkably well preserved, all of the figures and details retaining much of their original luster and clarity.

The shape of the lekythos dates back to the 6^th century, with its gently flaring body, trumpet mouth, and echinus foot. Taller, more cylindrical lekythoi came into vogue during the 5^th century B.C., but some painters continued decorating these more old-fashioned shapes. The proportions of this particular vessel are generous, yet elegant. The shoulder is wide and nearly horizontal.

The scene seems to depict one of the myths concerning Boreas, the king of the North Wind. Boreas is shown seated on a claw-footed throne with his decorative robes wrapped around him and a diadem on his head. He looks back at one of the two winged, wreath bearing creatures that flank him, for they are the Boreads, Calais and Zetes, his sons. To the far right, a robed man has been brought before the king. He also holds a spear, and his age is indicated, like Boreas, by his full beard. This character might be the seer Phineas who, according to some versions of the myth, was blinded by Boreas for the murder of his grandchildren, Phineas’ sons. Therefore, it seems that what we have before us is a scene of judgment where King Boreas has sent his sons to fetch Phineas and bring him before him. The Boread on the far left looks like he is offering an opinion: his head cranes forward on his neck, his arms seem to be gesticulating wildly and the other figures turn their heads towards him as if they are listening to what he is saying.

The brushwork is of the swift but lively type seen on the better later Attic black figure vases, for by the 5^th century, the more refined vase painting was reserved for the more fashionable emerging red figure technique. The outlines are crisp, the decorative elements and the folds of the drapery graceful and painted by a steady hand, and the figures themselves are neat and well proportioned. The Boreads in particular are wonderful, the numerous light incisions evoking the feathery lightness of the wings and the effects of wind and movement on their short-skirted robes.

Treatment of the Boreas myth is very rare, both on pottery and in other media. A Lakonian cup from about 570-60 B.C. by the aptly named Boreads Painter shows Boreads chasing Harpies. The cup attests to the fact that the iconography of these winged men was well established by the 6^th century. From Delphi, we have ivory plaques portraying the myth of Phineas with winged men with feathered sandals. The closest parallel to our lekythos, however, is another black figure white ground lekythos from the early 5^th century attributed to the Sappho Painter. Here, there are no Boreads, but Phineas is pictured with his arms spread out, reaching for the food that the Harpies have stolen from him. The nature of the Sappho Painter’s style, his apparent familiarity with the Phineas/Boreas myth and a date contemporary with our piece suggest that this lekythos may also have come from the Sappho Painter’s workshop or one near it.