Lebes Gamikos: Information from Answers.com

Lebes Gamikos by Asteas, c. 340 BC, National Archaeological Museum of Spain

The lebes gamikos, or "nuptial lebes," (plural - lebetes gamikoi) is a form of ancient Greek Pottery used in marriage ceremonies (literally, it means marriage vase). It was probably used in the ritual sprinkling of the bride with water before the wedding. In form, it has a large bowl-like body and a stand that can be long or short. Painted scenes are placed on either the body of the vessel or the stand.

One of the earliest lebes gamikos was painted by, apparently, a follower of Sophilos (c. 580 - 570)^[1] . The lebes gamikos had the typical wedding procession, accompanied by the unique addition of chariots bearing Helen and Menelaos and the bride's brothers.^[2]

A typical lebes gamikos shows wedding scenes (including mythic weddings such as the wedding of Peleus and Thetis, but the iconography be also be related to scenes such as mimes.

Notes

^ J.D. Beazley believed it likely that this wasn't done by one of Sophilos's followers, but Sophilos himself.
^ This information comes from John Boardman's "Athenian Black Figure Vases", 1974.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Lebetes

This ceramic art and design-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

v • d • e Pottery of ancient Greece

Wine shapes	Krater · Kylix · Oenochoe · Skyphos · Psykter · Kyathos · Rhyton · Kantharos · Askos · Kotyle

Perfume shapes and wedding shapes	Lebes Gamikos · Loutrophoros · Epinetron · Alabastron · Aryballos · Lekythos

Funerary shapes and cultic shapes	Lekythos · Loutrophoros · Phiale

Storage shapes	Amphora · Lebes · Pithos · Stamnos · Hydria

Techniques	Red-figure · Black-figure · Bilingual pottery · Six's technique · White-ground

Painters	List of Greek vase painters · Amasis Painter · Exekias · Pioneer Group · Douris · Meidias Painter · Euphronios

Special topics in Greek pottery	Typology · Kalos inscription · Symposium · Corpus vasorum antiquorum · John Beazley · Panathenaic Amphorae · South Italian

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

Donate to Wikimedia

		Art Encyclopedia. The Concise Grove Dictionary of Art. Copyright © 2002 by Oxford University Press, Inc.. All rights reserved. Read more
		Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Lebes Gamikos". Read more