Alabastron (Container for Scented Oil)

CC0 Public Domain Designation

Arts of Greece, Rome, and Byzantium

about 500-480 BCE

Attributed to the Diosphos Painter
Greek; Athens

Vessels of this shape were made over the course of hundreds of years and from a variety of materials. The shape may have originated in Egypt and taken its name from the word alabaster, but it was readily replicated in other materials, including terracotta and glass. The broad rim functioned as an applicator for spreading its contents, usually precious oils or perfumes.

Status: Currently Off View
Department: Arts of Greece, Rome, and Byzantium

Culture: Ancient Greek
Title: Alabastron (Container for Scented Oil)
Place: Athens (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.: 500 BCE–480 BCE
Medium: terracotta, black-figure on white ground
Dimensions: 16.2 × 6 × 6 cm (6 3/8 × 2 3/8 × 2 3/8 in.)
Credit Line: Gift of Martin A. Ryerson through the Antiquarian Society
Reference Number: 1907.11
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/87652/manifest.json

W. Froehner, Collection van Branteghem (Paris, 1892), no. 156.
Dietrich von Bothmer, Amazons in Greek Art, (Clarendon Press, 1957), pp. 107-108 (no. 192) and Plate LXIV (No. 3).
J.D. Beazley, Attic Black-Figure Vase-Painters, (Hacker Art Book, 1978), p. 510, no. 22.
Lexicon Iconographicum Mythologiae Classicae (LIMC), I.1, Zurich: Artemis (1981-2009), p. 633, no. 757.
P. Badinou, La laine et le parfum: epinetra et alabastres. Forme iconographie et fonction Recherche de céramique attique féminine (Louvain 2003), no. A 24, pl. 44.
E. Hatzivassiliou, “Black-figure Alabastra by the Diosphos and Emporion Painters: Specific Subjects for Specific Uses?” in A. Tsingarida (ed.), Shapes and Uses of Greek Vases (7th-4th centuries BC) (Brussels 2009) 229, fn. 17.
I. Algrain, L’alabastre attique: origine, forme et usages (Brussels 2014), p. 246, no. DIO 21.

Display Junior Museum, This is not a Greek Vase Show, November 1, 1984-January 29, 1986.
Art Institute of Chicago, Greek Vases - Form and Function, March 3, 1986-October 8, 1986.
Art Institute of Chicago, The Human Figure in Early Greek Art, A Preview, Part One, Gallery 101A, September 1, 1988 – May 24, 1989.
Art Institute of Chicago, Of Gods and Glamour: The Mary and Michael Jaharis Galleries of Greek, Roman, and Byzantine Art, Gallery 151, November 11, 2012 - present.

Alphonse van Branteghem, Brussels; sold, Hôtel Drouot, Paris, May 30-June 1, 1892, lot 156, to Martin A. Ryerson (1856-1932), Chicago; given to the Art Institute of Chicago, 1907.

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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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.