The nestoris is a wide-mouthed jar with two horizontal high-swung handles from shoulder to lip. It is South Italian and derived
from a native, non-Greek shape.
The mastoid cup is a footless, flat-bottomed version of the mastos with an outturned lip. The cup is either handleless or
has horizontal handles attached a little below the rim.
The term phormiskos in ancient literary sources applies to all manner of woven bags, sacks, or baskets made from materials
including cloth, leather, or rushes. The ceramic Athenian phormiskos is a rare type of gourd-shaped vase that was produced
from the 6th c. BCE until around 480 BCE. The shape ranges from spherical, to pear-shaped, to ovoid, to elongated ovoid; all
have a slender neck that forms a single contour from lip to a rounded bottom. They are false vases, since the hollow interior
of the body connects to a solid neck. Because of this, along with their name, and their largely funerary iconography, they
were likely made specifically as a type of grave good that mimicked astragal (knucklebone) sacks made of perishable materials.
Panathenaic amphorae are big, ovoid, lidded vases that were presented as prizes to winners of the Panathenaic Games, which
were held once every four years in Athens in honor of Athena, patroness of the city. They were filled with olive oil from
Athena's sacred trees. The series, presumed to date to the reorganization of the games about 560 BCE, was produced through
the Hellenistic period and beyond. The Panathenaic amphorae of the Classical period are of the finest quality construction.
Panathenaic amphorae were only decorated in the black-figure technique.
The shape, derived from eastern prototypes, is often found in metal. It is a flat, handleless libation bowl, sometimes with
an offset rim. In the centre of the floor is a raised navel (omphalos) which enables the finger to be inserted beneath when
tipping the bowl.
Pithoi were large, heavy-duty storage jars (Ali Baba jars) used for grain and various other materials. They were also used
for interments and were sometimes decorated with reliefs designs. Smaller versions go by the name of the pitharion (pl. pitharia).
Pelike' is a conventional name for a type of amphora that has a wide mouth and the maximum width low down on the body, producing
a pear-shaped outline.
Plemochoё' means 'full-pouring,’ and the shape is a low-lidded bowl with a wide shoulder and high foot. It is thought to have
held scented water for personal use, for religious ceremonies, and for the grave. Authorities do not fully agree on the name
of this vase and it is also called ‘exaleiptron’ and (incorrectly) ‘kothon.’ There is a tendency to use the name ‘exaleiptron’
for the stemless version of the vase, in particular for the Corinthian examples, and ‘plemochoё’ for the Athenian high-footed
shape, which is also frequently provided with a lid.
Psykter' comes from a word for 'cooling.' The term is used now to denote an Attic shape with a broad, hollow stem, a bulging,
mushroom-shaped body, and a broad mouth. It was sometimes furnished with a lid and pierced tubes for cord. The psykters was
filled with snow or cold water and set to float in a krater full of wine.
The psykter-amphora is a double-walled container whose walls are attached at the neck and at the base, the outer vessel having
a spout at the shoulder through which ice or ice water was poured into the space between the two walls. It usually has a drain
spout just above the foot, directly below the pour spout. The shape was probably only produced in the 6th c. BCE.
The stemmed plate is a plate or shallow dish attached to a stem. The stem can be low or high and spreads to the foot; the
floor slopes to the center where there is sometimes a small depression. The shape of the foot and the similar decorations
suggest that many of the stemmed plates came from one shop over a short period of time between the late 6th c. to early 5th
c. BCE.
The Type B plemochoё is the later of the two types and is differentiated by its tall, medium-wide stem terminating in a disc-like
foot. Authorities do not fully agree on the name of this vase and it is also called ‘exaleiptron’ and (incorrectly) ‘kothon.’
For further information on terminology, see 'plemochoё.'
The Type A plemochoё is the earlier of the two types and is differentiated by its shorter, wider flaring foot. Authorities
do not fully agree on the name of this vase and it is also called ‘exaleiptron’ and (incorrectly) ‘kothon.’ For further information
on terminology, see 'plemochoё.'
Pseudo Panathenaic amphorae are unofficial imitations of Panathenaic amphorae that lack prize inscriptions. They are visually
almost identical to their official counterparts.
‘Rhyton’ comes from a word for 'flow.' The term is used to denote a one-handled drinking cup whose bowl is fashioned into
the shape of an animal’s head (sheep, donkey, etc.) or occasionally a more complex creation (pygmy and crane, African child
and crocodile, mounted Amazon, camel and driver). It was originally made from horn, hence its shape. The idea was borrowed
from Persia.
In size, the Type D pyxis (or box-pyxis) is close to the powder pyxis, but it is more substantially made and was popular during
the late 5th and 4th centuries. It consists of a small cylinder with a flat cover and can be divided into two classes according
to the differing shapes of the lid. The lid consists of a slim flat disc with thickened rim, not unlike the discs and stands,
but provided with a flat area beneath, made to fit the inside of the mouth of the bowl.
The canonical Type A pyxis has concave sides, a flat floor, and a flanged rim. Some have a low tripartite, quadripartite,
or continuous foot, while others have no foot. The lid is thrown separately and is flat on top with a concave outer edge that
continues and completes the curving concave wall of the pyxis body. It was created from the 6th c. into the first half of
the 4th c. BCE.
The Type C pyxis is a broad, squat version of the Type A and has deeply concave sides resting on a low ring foot. The flanged
lid is convex, often with a metal ring handle. The container is usually twice as wide as it is high. It was made as early
as the mid 5th c. and was popular from the last quarter of the 5th through the first half of the 4th c. BCE.
Pyxides are round, lidded boxes of various shapes and sizes used for cosmetics, powder or jewelry. Some were put in tombs.
The term 'skyphoid-pyxis' is used to designate a shape that became a Sicilian specialty with an ovoid body, a lid, and two
horizontal handles.
Rarer than but similar to the psykter-amphora, the psykter-column-krater is a double-walled vessel meant to cool wine or water.
The outer vessel has a spout near the shoulder through which ice or ice water was poured into the space between the two walls.
It usually has a drain spout just above the foot, directly below the pour spout.
Rarer than but similar to the psykter-amphora, the psykter-calyx-krater is a double-walled vessel meant to cool wine or water.
The outer vessel has a spout near the shoulder through which ice or ice water was poured into the space between the two walls.
It usually has a drain spout just above the foot, directly below the pour spout.
The pyxis lid varies widely depending on the shape of the pyxis itself. Lids can be flat, concave, domed, or conical and rest
on top of the pyxis or can be deep-sided and slip over the sides of the box. The handles are often knobs or metal rings.
The sprinkler varies in size and shape but is generally a round vessel with one or two handles and a flat, perforated bottom.
A small hole at the top was used to fill it with liquid, and when the vessel was shaken the liquid would sprinkle from the
holes in the base. The context in which the sprinkler would have been used is not entirely clear; at least one was found in
the Kerameikos. It may have been used for ritual purification, for lifting and straining wine from a larger vessel, or for
aerating wine as it was sprinkled into a drinking cup. Its shape has been likened to both the mastos and rhyton and is sometimes
(incorrectly) called “klepsydra.”
The skyphos-krater is a very large, deep bowl with two horizontal strap handles with returns, and its rim is flanged or incurving
to receive a domed lid. The bowl may be supported by an echinus foot, or joined to a conical stand. The skyphos-krater is
an uncommon shape with a long history, being made from the Late Geometric period to the first quarter of the 6th c. BCE.
The stand is much smaller in size than other supports intended to serve as bases for vases. The stand has a wide, flat surface
on top that is often decorated with black- or red-figure. The wide top rests on a stemmed foot, usually with a fillet on the
stem.
The term ‘stamnos’ is conventionally (and wrongly) used to designate a storing and mixing bowl with two small horizontal handles
attached to a compact, bulbous body, a short neck and a lid.
The ring askos is a circular shape with a central cylindrical hole and a high belly with a marked shoulder. Most examples
of the ring askos have been identified as Corinthian or Boeotian and it is thought to be the inspiration for the Attic askos,
which will have a ring foot and a stouter body.
‘Situla’ comes from the Latin word meaning 'bucket.' It is a deep bowl for wine and was mainly made in South Italy. The swung
handles suggest a derivation from metal.
The tankard developed from the mug late in the Middle Geometric period. It has a single handle that often rises above the
mouth. In the Late Geometric period, the rim begins to overhand the largest diameter.
The Attic version was made to be filled with imported perfume, the foreign shape providing a recognizable identification of
the contents. From the early Hellenistic period onwards, when the developed fusiform unguentarium had become the usual export
container for perfume, the small Attic black equivalent would have been superfluous.
