Amphoriskos (oil flask)

Greek, South Italian, Apulian, Gnathian; Amphoriskos; Vases; These two flasks, 2015.641 and 2015.642, undoubtedly for oil, have been known since the early 1880's, when they were purchased by the noted British archaeologist Augustus Henry Lane Fox Pitt-Rivers. They remained with his descendants until 1992. Documentation indicates that they were found together at Capua, a major center in the Italian region of Campania. However, the technique of decoration, in which color is applied onto the vase, points to neighboring Apulia as the place of production. The simple motifs are adapted with exceptional sureness to the irregular surfaces of the respective shapes. Under the spout, the askos additionally shows a suspended theatrical mask between ribbons and ivy leaves, popular details associated with the wine god, Dionysos.