This Athenian red-figure lekythos, dated to ca. 500–450 BCE, is attributed to the Pan Painter, one of the most renowned representatives of the early red-figure technique. She was discovered in Gela, Sicily, and is currently held in the collection of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (inv. no. 13.198).
The main scene features a clothed hunter, possibly Kephalos, walking with a spear and a hunting dog. The figure wears a short chiton, a chlamys, and a petasos — a traveler's wide-brimmed hat — while carrying his spear over his shoulder. The dog moves ahead, alert. The composition is elegant and balanced, exemplifying the subtle, narrative quality of the Pan Painter’s work.
The iconography may allude to the myth of Kephalos, lover of Eos (Dawn), whose tale ends in jealousy and tragic loss. However, the hunter might also represent a generic youth, symbolizing noble leisure, physical training, or civic virtue in Athenian ideology.
This lekythos is a distinguished example of early Athenian red-figure pottery, capturing the shift from black-figure stylization to the more expressive and naturalistic representations that define Classical Greek art
