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 MoreBronze
IranianMonochrome glazed porcelain: porcelain with cobalt blue glaze
17th-18th centuryChineseSilver
18th centuryAmericanTerracotta
5th century BCEGreekSilver
18th centuryBritishGray stoneware with incised, combed, and openwork decoration
5th-6th centuryKoreanSilver
18th centuryBritishTerracotta
2nd millennium BCECypriotSilver
18th centuryAmericanDing ware: porcellaneous stoneware with ivory-hued glaze, the unglazed lip originally bound with metal. From the Ding kilns, Quyang county, Hebei province.
11th-12th centuryChineseTerracotta
1st century CERomanTerracotta
6th century BCEEtruscan