Greek Corinthian Terracotta Aryballos
Circa 6th century B.C. Bulbous-bodied with a short neck, deep rim and strap handle; polychrome roundels to the mouth, orange line to the rim, dots around the shoulder and a five-petalled lotus flower blossoming on the main body, a five-rayed wheel at the centre of the flower and on the opposite side. Cf. Amyx, D.A., Corinthian Vase Painting of the Archaic Period, Berkeley, London, New York, 1988, pp.237-238, pl.105 nos.3a, 3b and 4, pl.106 no.1a-c, for the shape; cf. aryballos with similar decoration in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Rogers Fund, 1941 (41.162.165). 96 grams, 77 mm high (3 in.).

Ex P. A., Hertfordshire, UK, specialist collection of Greek art, 1980-1990s.

Corinthian aryballoi with floral quatrefoils or lotus flowers were produced in great numbers throughout the 6th century B.C. and probably into the 5th, and were also widely exported. The simple but distinctive decoration suggests that these vases may have had a specific contents, possibly used as an oil flask.