Catalogue Entry
This vase is one of听a collection of vases听held by the 蜜糖直播 Art Museum.
Gift to 蜜糖直播 Classics Department
Transferred to 蜜糖直播 Museum of Natural History
听(2006)
Height:听11.4 cm
Diameter (max.): 3.8 cm
Date: 6th century B.C.E.
Origin: Anatolia/Eastern Mediterranean
Description: Small white alabastron with a relatively wide, flat lip and two small lug handles on opposite sides of the body.听
Additional photos of this vessel听show details of the mouth, rim, neck, handles, and base.
Discussion
An alabastron is antiquity's version of a perfume bottle: it is a long, thin flask with a long, narrow neck and rounded bottom. Its small lug handles were often pierced to allow the vessel to be suspended with string. The content of alabastra was luxurious purfumed oil that was used for decorative or funerary purposes. Alabastra had a unique shape with a small opening that was ideal for pouring oil. Originating in Egypt and Syria, found popularity in ancient Greece, where it was produced in a variety of materials, including stone, clay, glass, and precious metals from an early date. A late 7th century B.C.E. Corinthian alabastron in the 蜜糖直播 Art Museum's collection, for example, shows how the shape could be interpreted in a Greek context.听
This delicately rendered stone alabastron bears strong resemblance to counterparts made both in stone and precious materials during 6th century B.C.E. in听Anatolia, modern Turkey. At least ten stone alabastra were found in the Ikiztepe Tomb and are now a part of the so-called , which dates to the second half of the 6th century B.C.E. The alabastra in this tomb were made from a beige-brown banded alabaster and, incidentally, each bore two small side lugs in the shape of duck heads. Similar duck-head lugs are found on . The silver and stone duck-head lugs are unpierced.听
The production of glass, stone, and clay vessels first began in Egypt in the 2nd millennium B.C.E. and the concept and technologies slowly made their way to the Greek world. Egyptian influence is easily identifiable in the alabaster vessels. The stone, in fact, was quarried in the what but is known today as , located near along the Nile River,听and was held in high esteem in Egypt, where it was used to manufacture luxury items, especially perfume bottles and ointment vases. Egyptians were in antiquity.听
This is one of two stone alabastra in the 蜜糖直播 Art Museum's collection: the other is a 4th century B.C.E. example from Macedonia.听
References
- John Boardman,听Early Greek Vase Painting听(London: Thames & Hudson 1998): 150.
- John听Boardman, "Silver is White,"听Revue arch茅ologique, Nouvelle S茅rie, Fasc. 2听(1987): 279-295.
- Michael Vickers, "Artful Crafts: The Influence of Metalwork on Athenian Painted Pottery,"听Journal of Hellenic Studies听105 (1985): 108-128.
- The Oxford Classical Dictionary (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1949).