Oil Flasks (Aryballoi)

Object Name: 
Oil Flasks (Aryballoi)

Notice of Upcoming Content and Access Change

The Museum is working on the future of our online collections access. A new version will be available later in 2023. During this transition period, the current version of the Collections Browser may have reduced functionality and data may be not be updated. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. For any questions or concerns, please contact us.

What is AAT?

The Art & Architecture Thesaurus (AAT) (r) is a structured vocabulary for generic concepts related to art and architecture. It was developed by The Getty Research Institute to help research institutions become consistent in the terminology they use.Learn More

Object Name: 
Oil Flasks (Aryballoi)
Accession Number: 
51.1.104
Dimensions: 
Overall H: 4.3 cm, Diam: 3.8 cm
Location: 
On Display
Date: 
599-400 BCE
Web Description: 
Aryballoi were flasks for olive oil. Athletes used the oil for cleaning their bodies after exercise.
Department: 
Provenance: 
Komor, Mathias, Former Collection
Color: 
Material: 
Primary Description: 
Oil Flasks (Aryballoi). Translucent deep blue glass, bubbly with white stone, some surface dulling, trails of opaque white, opaque yellow and opaque light blue; core-formed, trail-decorated and tooled. Rounded rim flares out from short cylindrical neck, some repair and over-painting, apparently rim flared out from neck then white trail and blue trail added to extend rim, two opposing handles applied on the shoulder and pulled up under rim; wall spreads out into squat globular form, heavy trail of yellow applied beneath one handle and pulled around body three times to form upper limit of a register, wound one time below followed by a single white trail with a thin yellow trail applied carefully over it, the space between the yellow trails is filled with alternating light blue and yellow trails all of which are marvered into the surface and dragged alternately up and down thirty-eight times; rounded base.
Pre-Roman and Early Roman Glass in The Corning Museum of Glass (1979) illustrated, p. 125, #259, pl. 15; BIB# 29547