Circa 6th century B.C. The piriform bottle with broad everted rim and strap handle, polychrome painted dashes and concentric bands to the upper body and rim; accompanied by a custom-made display stand. Cf. a similar Etrusco-Corinthian alabastron in Princeton University Art Museum, inv. no.y1959-23. 36 grams total, 77 mm high including stand (3 in.).

Acquired 1980s-1990s. From the H.N. collection, Milton Keynes, Bedfordshire, UK. The alabastron takes its name from the material (alabaster) from which it was originally produced by the people who inhabited Mediterranean Africa from where it spread in the classical world. From an archaeological point of view, our specimen belongs to the first type of alabastrons, a conventional form of Corinthian origin, widespread throughout Greece from the second half of the 7th century BC. to the mid-6th century B.C., characterised by an elongated body with a maximum diameter towards the base, and continuous profile. It seems to be an Etrusco-Corinthian variant. [No Reserve]