Late-Corinthian Aryballos (Oil Flask)

Archaic
ca. 575 BCE - 550 BCE

2 1/2 x 2 11/16 x 2 11/16 in. (6.4 x 6.8 x 6.8 cm)

This object has the following keywords:

• aryballoi - Relatively small ancient Greek vessels with a globular body, a short neck, a flat disk-shaped mouth with a small orifice, and a handle (or sometimes two) extending from the shoulder to the rim; used for holding oils, perfumes, and ointments. They are usually made of terracotta. Uses of the aryballoi included in funeral rituals and by athletes who wore them on their wrists, suspended by thongs or strings.
• Black-figure - Refers to a style of Greek vase painting that developed from the Geometric and Orientalizing styles. It appeared in Corinth around 720 BCE, flourished in Attica by 600 BCE, and was found in Sparta, eastern Greece, and elsewhere, until the Red-figure style gradually replaced it in the late sixth century BCE. The style is characterized by a particular technique, which is characterized by the use of a refined slip, a two-stage firing process, and sintering to create black figures in silhouette on a red ground. Details were incised into the black figures or applied in purple or white pigment.
• incising - The process and technique of producing, forming, or tracing a pattern, text, or other usually linear motif by cutting, carving, or engraving.
• Late Corinthian - Refers to the late phase of Corinthian pottery style, dating from around 575 BCE to around 425 BCE, after which Corinth was no longer a major exporter of pottery. It is characterized by continued mass production and repetitive designs with little detail, as well as innovative work created with apparent care. Painting on these vessels typically includes elaborate ornaments arranged in formal patterns, a lively animation of design, and animals with attenuated proportions. During this phase animal scenes were gradually replaced by more scenes of human figures.
• quatrefoils - Figures composed of four equal lobes separated by cusps.
• toilettes - Term applied to a variety of French dressing tables designed for women.
• vase paintings - Refers to two-dimensional decoration applied to pottery by using paint made of metallic oxides or other pigments held in suspension in slip or another medium. The term is particularly used to refer to Ancient Greek red- and black-figure works. See also "porcelain paintings (visual works)."

This object is a member of the following portfolios: