Two-handled Amphoriskos
c. 300-600 CE
Description
Small, intact amphora with remains of sealife encrusted on the surface. Narrow mouth and blunt, rounded toe. Underneath the white encrustation, the light brown clay can be seen. The encrustation encircling the round mouth is dyed with purple, either from dye the vessel would have contained or from the shells themselves. Purple was a color reserved for upper classes and royalty in ancient times due to its great expense. The color could be extracted from the Murex shell, which was used to create the dye, but it was expensive to obtain and import these shells.
Dimensions
actual: 29 x 16.7 x 13.9 cm (11 7/16 x 6 9/16 x 5 1/2 in.)
Provenance
Louise M. and George E. Bates, Camden, ME (by 1971-1992), gift; to the Harvard University Art Museums, 1992.
Related Artworks
View MoreGlass
20th centuryAustrianTerracotta
Greenish white nephrite
19th centuryChineseBlue-green glass
4th-5th century CERomanWhite nephrite
18th centuryChineseKaya-type ware: gray stoneware with combed and openwork decoration and with considerable natural ash glaze. Reportedly recovered from the Tomb of the Generals in Yangji-ri, Hyŏnp'ung-myŏn, Talsŏng-gun, near Kyŏngju, North Kyŏngsang province in 1960.
6th centuryKoreanTerracotta
LydianFritware
13th centuryPersianDing ware: porcellaneous stoneware with ivory-hued glaze, the unglazed lip originally bound with metal. From the Ding kilns, Quyang county, Hebei province.
11th-12th centuryChineseHorn
17th centuryChineseNumbered Jun ware: light gray stoneware with variegated blue glaze; with Chinese numeral 10 (shi) inscribed on base before firing
15th centuryChinese