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Amphoriskos (oil flask)

ca. 340–320 BCE
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 161
These two flasks, 2015.641 and 2015.642, undoubtedly for oil, have been known since the early 1880's, when they were purchased by the noted British archaeologist Augustus Henry Lane Fox Pitt-Rivers. They remained with his descendants until 1992. Documentation indicates that they were found together at Capua, a major center in the Italian region of Campania. However, the technique of decoration, in which color is applied onto the vase, points to neighboring Apulia as the place of production. The simple motifs are adapted with exceptional sureness to the irregular surfaces of the respective shapes. Under the spout, the askos additionally shows a suspended theatrical mask between ribbons and ivy leaves, popular details associated with the wine god, Dionysos.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Amphoriskos (oil flask)
  • Period: Classical
  • Date: ca. 340–320 BCE
  • Culture: Greek, South Italian, Apulian, Gnathian
  • Medium: Terracotta
  • Dimensions: 6 1/2 in. (16.5 cm)
  • Classification: Vases
  • Credit Line: Purchase, John S. and Maria Christina Bilimatsis Gift, 2015
  • Object Number: 2015.641
  • Curatorial Department: Greek and Roman Art

More Artwork

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Bell, Leaded bronze, Greek
Bell
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3rd or 4th century BCE (?)
Terracotta amphoriskos (oil flask), Terracotta, Greek, Attic
Terracotta amphoriskos (oil flask)
Greek, Attic
4th century BCE
Terracotta situla (bucket), Lycurgus Painter, Terracotta, Greek, South Italian, Apulian
Terracotta situla (bucket)
Attributed to the Lycurgus Painter
ca. 360–340 BCE
Cauldron attachment: bull's head, Bronze
Cauldron attachment: bull's head
ca. 7th century BCE
Terracotta amphoriskos (flask), Terracotta, Greek, Attic
Terracotta amphoriskos (flask)
Greek, Attic
ca. 420 BCE

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