Chapter XXI
.).[707] For a plate the usual name was πίναξ (also πινακίον, πινακίσκος), a form which is interesting as often occurring among painted vases (Fig. 55). It is found at all periods, from the fabrics of Rhodes and Naukratis down to the Apulian and Campanian “fish-plates,” which have a sinking in the centre, and are painted with fish, shell-fish, etc. They were no doubt used for eating fish, the sinking being for the sauce.[708] A famous early instance of the pinax is the “Euphorbos-plate” in the British Museum (see p. 335). The name is also given to the square plaques or tablets, such as those found at Corinth, on the Athenian Acropolis, and elsewhere, which were generally of a votive character. They are often depicted on the vases themselves, indicating the locality of a shrine.[709]
Vessels for holding vinegar or sauces were known by the names of ὀξύβαφον, ὀξίς, or ἐμβάφιον.[710] The shapes are not exactly known, but they were apparently small cups or dishes; the incorrect identification of the first-named with the κρατήρ we have already discussed (p. 171). The words ἐρεύς and κυψελίς are given by Pollux[711] as vases for holding sweets, and the κυμινοδόκον or κυμινοθήκη was, as the name implies, a box or receptacle for spices.[712] The last-named has been identified with the κέρνος, described by Athenaeus as “a round vessel, having attached several little kotylae (κοτυλίσκους).”[713] Two existing forms correspond in some degree to this description: one found in Cyprus and at Corinth, and consisting of a hollow ring, to which small cups or jars are attached at intervals; the other found chiefly in Melos, and consisting of a central stand, round which are grouped a varying number of alabastron-like vases, evidently designed for holding small quantities of unguents or perfumes, or perhaps flowers, eggs, or other objects. They are all of very early date, and decorated in primitive fashion.[714] A better form of the word seems to be κέρχνος. Many have been found at Eleusis,[715] and it is supposed that they were used in the Mysteries for carrying the first-fruits.[716]
[Illustration: FIG. 56. LEKYTHOS.]
Several kinds of vases were used for holding oil, the characteristic of all these shapes being the narrow neck and small mouth, which were better adapted for pouring the liquid drop by drop. The ordinary Greek word for an oil-flask is λύκυθος, frequently found in Aristophanes and elsewhere. We have already referred (pp. 132, 143) to the passages in the _Ecclesiazusae_ where the practice of placing lekythi on tombs, and generally of using them for funeral purposes, finds allusion. From these passages it has been possible to identify the class of white-ground Athenian vases on which funeral subjects are painted, with absolute certainty as =Lekythi=. But the shape is not confined to this one class. In the early B.F. period (especially in Corinthian wares) it assumes a less elegant form, with cup-shaped mouth, short thick neck, and quasi-cylindrical body tapering slightly upwards (cf. the alabastron below). The later form, which prevails from the middle of the B.F. period down to the end of the fourth century at Athens, with very little variation of form, is one of the most beautiful types of Greek vases (Fig. 56). It has a long neck, to which the handle is attached, flat or almost concave shoulder, and cylindrical body, semi-oval at the base. The B.F. examples are seldom found in Italy, and almost all come from Athens and other Hellenic sites, or from Sicily, a country in which the form seems to have been exceptionally popular. The same may be said of the ordinary R.F. examples, which have no sepulchral reference, and are found in large numbers at Gela (Terranuova) in Sicily, but seldom elsewhere. The white lekythi have been found in Eretria, and at Gela, and Locri in Southern Italy, besides Athens. The lekythos seldom attains to any great size, except in the marble examples used as tombstones. They were probably used at the bath and in the gymnasium, and may also have served other purposes, _e.g._ for pigments. In illustration of this reference may be made to the well-known passage in Aristophanes’ _Frogs_ (1200 ff.), where the jeer of Aeschylos at Euripides’ stereotyped beginnings of his plays, ληκύθιον ἀπώλεσεν, seems to imply “he is hard up for something new to say,” _i.e._ “he has lost his paint-pot; his lines need embellishment.”
[Illustration:
FIG. 57. LEKYTHOS (LATER FORM). ]
Towards the end of the fifth century the lekythos takes a new departure (Fig. 57), and appears with a squat, almost spherical body, without foot (except for the base-ring). This form is sometimes known as _aryballos_ (see below), but is perhaps more accurately described as a “wide-bodied” (Germ. _bauchige_) lekythos. It is very popular at Athens in the late fine or polychrome vases,[717] and was adopted exclusively in Southern Italy, where it is the only form of lekythos found. This type of vase is often found in the period of the Decadence with a subject moulded in relief attached to the front, sometimes of a comic nature.
[Illustration: FIG. 58. ALABASTRON.]
The _alabastron_ (ἀλάβαστρον or ἀλάβαστος, both forms being found in Classical Greek) is a shape closely allied to the lekythos. It preserves the same form throughout the period of Greek vase-painting (Fig. 58.), but is not often found after the middle of the sixth century. In the early Corinthian wares it is very common. The name is derived from the material of which it was originally made, and many examples of alabaster vases of this shape have been found in excavations. It was chiefly used for holding oil, unguents, and cosmetics, and is often represented in scenes of ladies’ toilet as in use for these purposes. Its characteristics are a flat round top with small orifice, short neck, and more or less cylindrical body with rounded-off base, intended for placing in a stand (ἀλαβαστοθήκη).[718] It is generally without handles, but when they occur they are in the form of two small ears, through which a cord was passed for carrying or suspending it. The “alabaster box” of the Gospels was a vessel of this form (cf. the original Greek), and it was broken by knocking off the top, in order that the contents might flow out quickly. The name βῆσσα is also given as a synonym of the ἀλάβαστρον.[719]
[Illustration: FIG. 59. ARYBALLOS.]
Another vase of the same type is that known as the ἀρύβαλλος. The derivation of the word is unknown, but the first half connects it with the “ladle” class of vases (ἀρυτήρ, etc.), of which we have already spoken. It can, however, hardly be a vase of that type, and the connection seems to be its use in the bath,[720] _i.e._ as an oil-flask. It is generally described as resembling a purse; Athenaeus[721] says it is broader below than above, like a purse tied at the neck with a string. The name, however, is usually applied to a form of vase akin to the alabastron, but with small globular body, handle, and very short neck (Fig. 59.). This type is almost confined to the Corinthian and other early fabrics, and frequently occurs in glazed or enamelled ware (see p. 127). Its connection with the bath is undoubted, and it was generally carried on a string, together with a strigil or flesh-scraper. As this form died out in the sixth century, the name has been used, as noted above, for a later variety of the lekythos, in which the body approaches a globular form.
Transitional between the alabastron and the aryballos is a type of which some examples occur among early Corinthian wares, with egg-shaped body, flat round top, and small ear-like handle, the base being rounded off. To this the name βομβύλιος has been tentatively given, on the authority of Antisthenes, who defines the word as meaning a kind of lekythos with narrow neck.[722] In the same passage of Athenaeus[723] it is contrasted with the quickly-emptied φιάλη or bowl; those who drink from it must do so drop by drop (κατὰ μικρὸν στάζοντες). The name may denote a cocoon, the shape of which this vase resembles, or may be imitative, from the gurgling sound made by a liquid poured therefrom. The ἐξάλειπτρον was also probably a kind of oil-flask.[724]
[Illustration: FIG. 60. PYXIS.]
A few forms of vases were exclusively devoted to feminine use. These include the πυξίς, a cylindrical box with cover, in which jewellery or other objects such as hair-pins, cosmetics, etc., might be kept for use in the toilet (Fig. 60.). The painted examples of this form, which nearly all belong to the later R.F. period, are usually decorated with appropriate subjects, women at their toilet, preparations for weddings, etc. The σμηματοθήκη, or soap-box, served similar purposes.[725] It seems to be represented by a form of vase of which the British Museum possesses a specimen (without figure decoration), with cover and high stem, but no handle except the knob on the cover. It is intermediate in form between the pyxis and the so-called λεπαστή (p. 165), and sometimes appears in toilet and other scenes.[726] A rare form, found almost exclusively in the R.F. period,[727] consisting of a globular vase with vertical looped handles on a high stem, has been variously named, but the latest theory is that it represents a λέβης γαμικός.[728] It contained lustral water, and is usually decorated with bridal scenes. One is depicted in a toilet scene on a pyxis in the British Museum.[729]
[Illustration: FIG. 61. EPINETRON OR ONOS.]
Lastly, a peculiar semi-cylindrical vessel, closed at one end and open down the side (Fig. 61.), was for a long time a puzzle to archaeologists, but its use was finally determined by its appearance in a vase-painting.[730] It is there held by a seated woman, fitted over her knee and thigh, and was used while spinning to pass the thread over. The name of these objects is given by Pollux (vii. 32) as ἐπίνητρον or ὄνος (“the donkey”). Several of them are painted with spinning scenes, and the vase-painting alluded to above is curiously enough on a vase of this form.
There is a type of vase, of which two or three varieties occur, which, from its general likeness to a wine-skin, is usually styled =Askos=. It does not, however, appear that there is any direct authority for this, at least in literary records; where the word does occur, it always denotes a leather skin, such as is sometimes depicted on the vases, carried by a Seilenos or Satyr. It is, however, a convenient expression, and there is no other recorded term which can on any grounds be associated with this type.
[Illustration: FIG. 62. ASKOS.]
The earliest examples, which date from the middle of the R.F. period, have a flat round body with convex top, and a projecting spout (Fig. 62); the handle is sometimes arched over the back to meet the spout, or else takes a separate ring-like form.[731] They are usually decorated with two small figures, one on each side. In the vases of Southern Italy a new form appears (Fig. 63), chiefly found in Apulia, in which the resemblance to a wine-skin is much more apparent, the tied-up pairs of legs being represented by the spout or a projection. The handle is usually arched over the back, and the pouch-shaped body sometimes assumes an almost birdlike form.
[Illustration: FIG. 63. APULIAN ASKOS.]
A variety which is also common in Southern Italy is made of plain black ware, and is not painted but has a subject in relief in a medallion on the top[732]; the handle is ring-shaped[733] and the form generally resembles the variety first described, except that the body is flat on the top, and convex below, with a base-ring (Fig. 64). It seems probable that these vases were used for holding oil for feeding lamps, and consequently they are generally known by the Latin name of _guttus_, or “lamp-feeder” (see pp. 211, 503). Whether the painted aski were used for the same purpose is doubtful; those, however, with the large body seem to have been intended for other purposes, especially as they often have a strainer inserted in them. Some indeed appear to have been used as rattles, and still contain small balls or pebbles, placed within them for that purpose. On the whole, however, it seems more convenient to reckon the ἀσκοί with the oil-vases.[734]
[Illustration: FIG. 64. SO-CALLED “GUTTUS.”]
Among vases which do not exactly fall under the heading of any
## particular shape may be noted certain types of moulded vases, and those
with reliefs modelled on them or attached. Many of these almost fall under the category of terracotta figures, but still must be reckoned as vases, even when painted in the methods of terracottas rather than pottery. Such are the large aski described on page 119, and the contemporary ornamental vases modelled in the form of female heads, of Maenads, or of Athena (as B.M. G 1). Other types we have described elsewhere,[735] such as the rhyta ending in animals’ heads, the kanthari and rhyta of the R.F. period in the form of human or Dionysiac heads, and the analogous vases of the archaic period. Again, there are such forms as the flasks with flat circular bodies, and the large pyxides which are often found in Southern Italy.[736] They usually bear a subject in relief, covered with a white slip and painted in pink and blue, like the Canosa vases; a specimen from Pompeii, with rich remains of colouring, has lately been acquired by the British Museum. The curious type of vase sometimes found in Sicily, with a tall conical cover, the ornamentation being partly in encaustic, partly in gilded relief, has been already mentioned.[737] There is also a late variety of the so-called kernos (p. 195), consisting of four cups united on an elaborate fluted stand, of which the British Museum possesses two good examples.[738]
It should be borne in mind that all these exceptional shapes are probably imitations of metal-work, perhaps made for the benefit of those who could not afford the more expensive material, just as imitation jewellery was sometimes made in gilt terracotta. Throughout the Hellenistic period (to which the classes we are discussing chiefly belong), the universal tendency is to substitute metal vases for pottery, and moulded or relief-wares for painted decoration, and the potter, finding the painted vases were no longer appreciated, was forced to confine himself to imitating metal, and thus keep abreast with the new fashion. The whole subject of the plastic decoration of vases has been more fully dealt with elsewhere (