Art Institute of Chicago

Amphoriskos (Container for Oil)

Greek; Corinth

Date

600-575 BCE

Medium

terracotta, black-figure

Culture

Corinth

Department

Arts of Greece, Rome, and Byzantium

Institution

Art Institute of Chicago

Located on the narrow isthmus that joins the Greek mainland and the Peloponnese, with natural harbors facing east and west, Corinth was the major port of trade in Greece for most of the Archaic period (700–480 BCE). Producers exported scented oil around the Mediterranean in terracotta containers like this one known as an amphoriskos, literally a "little amphora," that survive today in the thousands.

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