Oil flask (aryballos) in the form of a rooster
6th century BCE
Description
The flat mouth concealed behind the rooster's head is the only indication that this faience object is hollow and could serve as a flask for scented oil. Two wings curve up on either side of the vessel opening, with feathers indicated by incised lines. The rooster's beak and wattle are complete, but its comb is partly broken. The animal sits on a low base. Its wings and tucked-under legs are reminiscent of the hybrid "horse-rooster" (hippalektryon) that also occurs among such faience flasks.
Dimensions
7.5 x 7 cm (2 15/16 x 2 3/4 in.)
Provenance
[Charles Ede Limited, London (1988)], sold; to Private Collection (1988-2000) sold; [through Charles Ede Limited, London (2000)], to Harvard University Art Museums. Purported formerly in the Gustave Mustaki Collection, Alexandria, Egypt and London.
Related Artworks
View MoreMetal
14th centuryItalianNorthern black ware of Cizhou type: light gray stoneware with dark brown glaze, the markings in overglaze iron oxide, the lowest portion of the exterior dressed with black slip. From the Xiaoyu cun kilns at Huairen, Shanxi province.
12th centuryChinesePlaster
RomanPorcelain with mold-impressed decoration under pale sky-blue glaze
12th centuryChineseTerracotta
Terracotta
6th century BCEGreekFritware painted with luster (copper and silver) over white lead alkali glaze opacified with tin
12th-13th centuryBronze
6th century BCEEtruscanSilver
18th centuryAmericanCarved rhinoceros horn
17th centuryChineseWhite ware: porcelain with light bluish glaze. Probably made in Kwangju-gun, Kyŏnggi province.
18th centuryKorean