Amphoriskos (Container for Oil)

Arts of the Ancient Mediterranean and Byzantium

5th-7th century

Byzantine

Initially affordable only among the wealthy, glass was used in ancient Rome as containers for oils, perfume, and tablewares. The word “amphoriskos”, Greek for “small amphora”, refers to this object’s shape, a miniature version of the two-handled metal or ceramic vessels that contained oil or wine. Core-formed glass was made by dipping a removable core that gives the vessel its shape into a molten glass mixture. The technical achievements and prestige of glass continued through the Byzantine period.

Status: Currently Off View
Department: Arts of the Ancient Mediterranean and Byzantium

Culture: Byzantine
Title: Amphoriskos (Container for Oil)
Place: Mediterranean Region (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.: 400 CE–600 CE
Medium: Glass, core-formed technique
Dimensions: 5.1 × 4.4 × 4.4 cm (2 × 1 3/4 × 1 3/4 in.)
Credit Line: Gift of Theodore W. and Frances S. Robinson
Reference Number: 1949.1142
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/67448/manifest.json

Wanda Odell, “Ancient Glass: The Mr. and Mrs. Theodore W. Robinson Collection, Gallery 5A, The Art Institute of Chicago,” 1940, unpublished catalogue in curatorial object file, Art Institute of Chicago.

Art Institute of Chicago, Ancient Glass, Mr. and Mrs. Theodore W. Robinson Collection, June 28, 1940 –January 1, 1941.

Theodore W. and Frances S. Robinson, Chicago, by 1931; given to the Art Institute of Chicago, 1949.

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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.