CIRCA MID 5TH CENTURY B.C.

Pelikes were principally used for storing liquids such as oil and wine, which the depiction on one side of this jar suggests. The scene shows a youth holding a wine strainer below a dripping wineskin, holding an aryballos in his hand and overlooked by a draped figure. Sieves or strainers through which to pour wine were a standard feature of the symposium as the wine had often not been subjected to filtration since fermentation. The reverse of the vase shows a bull in profile to the right with a column of Doric order, perhaps suggesting that the pelike was used as part of a dedication.