**Originally Listed At $400**

Classical World, Magna Graecia, Southern Italy, Campania, ca. 340 to 320 BCE. A rare blackware pottery alabastron in excellent condition! Alabastra are long-bodied vessels with flat disks for the mouth. This one has a flat base, which is somewhat unusual (they often have rounded bottoms). Incised lines and curves at the top and bottom of the body give it some simple decoration. The shape was common in Corinth, and came to Athens in the sixth century BCE. The term alabastron is Greek with Egyptian origins, and many of the oldest examples are painted white, perhaps in imitation of the stone. These were used to hold perfumed oil; scenes on painted vases show women using them to apply it after bathing. This particular example has an overall iridescent black sheen that calls to mind glass or silver objects (and was deliberately slipped to do so). Size: 2.55" W x 3.8" H (6.5 cm x 9.7 cm)

Provenance: private East Coast, USA collection

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#139789

Repaired at neck. Repair is very well done and difficult to see. Tiny chip from rim with light pitting and wear on surface commensurate with age. Nice remaining pigment over much of the surface.