Literature

These finely potted handleless jars are in remarkable condition. The profile with its ovoid body, cylindrical neck flaring to a wide rounded mouth, and set on a tall circular foot, is typical of the lydion. This form is a rare type of perfume vessel that as indicated by its name, originated in Lydia, a region in western Anatolia. In the second half of the sixth century BC, the shape was imitated in Greece and Italy and occur in Ionian, Attic, Lakonian, and Pontic forms.

They were specifically used as containers for ointments and oils, and great care was taken by the potter to ensure that this graceful and skilfully made pair would be suitable receptacles for their precious contents. The contents would presumably have been for a semi-solid ointment as the opening is wide and impractical for containing and pouring a fragrant oil. These are a larger than average size, and rare as a surviving pair.

For a similar example in the Museum of Cycladic Art, Athens, see acc. no. ΝΓ1121; also Princeton y1961-15; and Leipzig, Antikenmuseum der Universität Leipzig: T4799, Corpus Vasorum Antiquorum: Leipzig, Archaologisches Institut Der Karl-Marx-Universitat 1, 56, PL.(691) 51.1-2. Cf. B. Bottini,, Les Lydia du Musée d’art et d’histoire de Genève in Antike Kunst, 39, 1996, p. 140-141, fig. 1.