Greek
An Attic pottery amphoriskos in the form of an almond, circa 4th century BC
Pottery
Height: 6.8 cm
The ‘figural’ vase is moulded in the shape of an almond. The body is left reserved but decorated with punched dots whilst the upper neck, upper handles and mouth are...
The ‘figural’ vase is moulded in the shape of an almond. The body is left reserved but decorated with punched dots whilst the upper neck, upper handles and mouth are enhanced with black glaze.
Provenance
Egon Tanner (1919 - 2009) Collection, Schaffhausen, Switzerland
Cahn AG, Basel, Auktion 5, 23 September 2005, lot 136
American private collection, 2005 - 2019
Literature
Such amphoriskoi were oil flasks, usually for perfumed oil. Almonds were important to the Greeks for their fruit and oil, which fittingly also served as a binder for perfumes. For a similar example in Copenhagen, National Museum (inv. no.1225) see Corpus Vasorum Antiquorum: Copenhagen, National Museum, 4, 137, pl. 178, 175.3; Beazley Archive Pottery Database no. 1013526