Alabastron (Container for Scented Oil)

Arts of Africa

7th century BCE/1st century CE

Egyptian

Before soap was invented, scented oils were used for bathing or perfume and stored in vials like this one. This early Egyptian example was carved from alabaster, a translucent stone that is plentiful in Egypt. Through trade the Greeks obtained and then copied the shape in colored glass or clay, calling the shape an “alabastron,” after the stone used for the vessels. Because they were considered very personal belongings, alabastrons were often buried with their owners and have been found frequently in tombs.

Status: Currently Off View
Department: Arts of Africa

Culture: Ancient Egyptian
Title: Alabastron (Container for Scented Oil)
Place: Egypt (Object made in)
Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.: 700 BCE–100 CE
Medium: Alabaster
Dimensions: 7 × 3.5 cm (2 3/4 × 1 3/8 in.); Diam.: 3.5 cm (1 3/8 in.)
Credit Line: Gift of Henry H. Getty and Charles L. Hutchinson
Reference Number: 1894.815
IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world. Learn more.: https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/136427/manifest.json

Thomas George Allen, A Handbook of the Egyptian Collection (Chicago: The Art Institute of Chicago, 1923), p. 96.
Roberta Casagrande-Kim, ed., When the Greeks Ruled Egypt: From Alexander the Great to Cleopatra. Exh. cat. (New York: Institute for the Study of the Ancient World; Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2014), p. 105, cat. 131.

Art Institute of Chicago, When the Greeks Ruled: Egypt After Alexander the Great, October 31, 2013 - July 27, 2014; traveled to New York City, NY, the Institute for the Study of the Ancient World, October 8, 2014 - January 4, 2015.

Reverend Chauncey Murch (1859-1907), Luxor, Egypt; sold to the Art Institute of Chicago, 1894; price reimbursed by Henry H. Getty and Charles L. Hutchinson, 1894.

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Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

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Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

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IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

Learn more.