Superb museum quality ancient pottery artifact. This Aryballos Greek Corinthian Vessel was used for perfume or oil sometime around 600 - 625 B.C. (7th Century). It has wonderful decoration of stymphalian birds.
This piece is in it's original condition standing 3 3/4" tall and measuring 12 3/4" around the bulbous body (using a soft tape measure). It has a 1/4" opening at the top and a side handle.
This aryballos is crafted of terracotta and is very light weight - 6.8 ounces unpackaged. You can see the polychrome glaze which has faded from age. The colors appear to be burgundy and black (looks like it has faded to more of a dark green). There are no chips cracks or flakes in the pottery structure. There is flaking to the polychrome glaze at the rim of the of the piece (shown in photo 5). This is simply a peeling of the polychrome not a chip on the pottery. It is decorated with 3 large Stymphalian birds, florals and various other line and dotted decorations. You can see the fine line etchings in the terracotta throughout the design. The polychrome is dulled from age as mentioned above, but the decoration can be easily seen. When the decoration is wiped down with water it is very bright but dries dull. I am uncertain if there is something to bring back the original luster.
A rare piece for the collector!
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