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Nolan Amphora

Definition
A subtype of amphora

Panathenaic Amphora

Definition
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.

Miniature Panathenaic Amphora

Definition
Miniature Panathenaic amphorae are ointment vessels with a similar shape to the regular-sized Panathenaic amphorae with small handles and a narrow foot. They are usually decorated in black-figure and measure about 8 - 19 cm (about 3.1 - 7.5 in) high.

Belly Amphora

Definition
A belly amphora has a continuous, smooth curve from lip to foot. These amphorae have been classified as Types A, B, and C, based on differences in the shape of lips, feet, and handles.

Siana Cup

Definition
Named after a site on Rhodes where examples were found, Siana cups can be distinguished from Komast cups by their taller feet and lips. They are decorated on the tondo (another difference from Komast cups) and there are two schemes for decorating the exterior. The 'double-decker' type involves two friezes on each side, one on the lip (usually floral), and a figured scene on the body. The 'overlap' type uses a single frieze on each side to cover the total height of the body and lip. Aspects of the form and decoration of Siana cups appear to be indebted to East Greek models.

One Handled Kantharos

Definition
An uncommon form of the kantharos. The elements of foot, lower and upper walls and rim are the same as for the moulded-rim kantharos, but the single handle spans from the upper part of the lower wall to the bottom edge of the moulding. Lacking a spur, the cup is narrower than typical kantharoi, and while it is sometimes ribbed it is never found with stamping.

Louterion

Definition
The term 'louterion' (coming from a word meaning 'wash’) is used to denote a bowl with two handles and a spout.

Mastoid

Definition
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.

Pyxis

Definition
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.

Psykter Column Krater

Definition
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.

Plastic Vase

Definition
Term used to describe ancient Mediterranean vessels in the form of heads or animals or groups that were partially formed in molds like terracotta statuettes.

Kylix Type A

Definition
Type A is the preferred cup shape of black-figure vase painters from about 530 BCE. The cup has a deep bowl without an offset lip, a low flaring foot with a pronounced concave edge, and usually a fillet between the thick stem and the bowl.

Pinax

Definition
Pinax' is a Greek word for 'plate'. The term is usually now applied to a flat rectangular slab that was decorated and hung on tombs or in sanctuaries.

Type A Exaleiptron

Definition
The Type A Exaleiptron dates earlier than Type B and displays a shorter, wider flaring foot.

Conical Oinochoe

Definition
A minor Geometric shape, the conical oinochoe is small with a trefoil mouth, a narrow neck, and a body that consists of little more than a broad shoulder. In Early Protocorinthian the body is straightened until it approaches a more or less shallow cone, and the neck becomes taller; this conical oinochoe shape remains popular in Corinthian pottery until the early 6th c. BCE.

Incense Burner

Definition
This shape is also known as a thymiaterion.

Plemochoe Type B

Definition
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.'

Little Master Band Cup

Definition
A variation of the Little Master cup, this shape is painted black save for a handle zone that contains a decorated frieze, unlike lip-cups which are largely plain save for the line that divides the lip and the body.

Dinos

Definition
The term means 'drinking cup,' but is now wrongly used to designate the same shape as 'lebes.'

Mug

Definition
The name 'mug' is used to designate a deep, one-handled drinking cup. See kothon.

Amphora Type A

Definition
The amphora Type A has a flaring lip with concave sides, flat flanged handles, a foot with the upper part stepped, and a lower echinus or torus. An early amphora shape that was popular in the black-figure technique, it was produced from the early 6th c. BCE to about 440 BCE.

Amphora Type C

Definition
The amphora Type C has a rounded lip and torus or echinus foot and its handles vary in shape. It was potted from the second quarter of the 6th c. BCE in the black-figure technique (especially by the Affecter's workshop), and from ca. 520 BCE to 470 BCE in the red-figure technique.

Type B Exaleiptron

Definition
The Type B Exaleiptron displays a tall, medium-wide stem that terminates in a disk-like foot.

Skyphos Krater

Definition
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.

Oon

Definition
The oon is an egg-shaped vessel.

Lekanis with Spout

Definition
The spouted lekanis follows the traditional lekanis shape but has a bridged spout attached at and rising slightly above the rim.

Pelike

Definition
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.

Lekanis Lid

Definition
Lekanis lids from the 6th through early 5th c. were convex and created an almost circular appearance with the lekanis itself. For the rest of the 5th and into the 4th c., the lid became flatter, answering the parallel development of the bowl. The lid generally has a central stem or knob for a handle.

Squat Lekythos

Definition
The squat lekythos is a type of lekythos that lacks the sharp shoulder of the cylindrical types that was made primarily in the late 4th c. BCE.

Stemmed Plate

Definition
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.

Klepsydra

Definition
The klepsydra, or water clock, was used to enforce time limits on speeches in Athenian law courts. The pots were filled to a specific level, and as the water drained from a hole near the bottom, marked off the time limit. Approaching the end of the limit, the stream would have diminished perceptibly as the pressure lessened and would have been apparent not only to the orator but to its listeners.

Feeder

Definition
A small, footed container with a flat top and a spout at its side, the feeder was used for providing drinks to small children or invailds. It is also known as a bombylios.

Olpe

Definition
The word 'olpe' is Greek for 'jug' and is conventionally used for a slender-shaped jug with a low handle and no separate neck.

Bottle

Definition
A vase with narrow neck, flaring lip, rounded body, shallow foot, and no handle. It is sometimes called a flask.

Kylix Type C

Definition
The Type C cup has a rather shallow bowl and a plain or offset lip. The cup can be stemmed or stemless. The stem, when present, is very short with a fillet at its base, and the foot is a thick torus. In the stemless versions, there is simply a fillet between bowl and foot.

Kassel Cup

Definition
Related to the Little Master cups, Kassel cups have a rather flat, band-cup shape and are generally small. Both the lip and body are usually covered with simple patterned bands. Tongues are common at the lip, as are rays above the foot, and some Kassel cups have silhouette figures in the handle zone.

Calyx Krater

Definition
The calyx-krater is one of the largest Attic vases, and is reminiscent of a bell-shaped flower. It is named for its convex lower body that has the configuration of the calyx of a flower, while the flaring upper body is suggestive of the bell-shaped corolla. It has large, robust, upturned handles situated opposite one another on the cul.The calyx-krater appears in Attic black-figure after the middle of the 6th c. BCE and is a popular shape until the end of red-figure.

Kylix Type B

Definition
Primarily a red-figure shape, the Type B cup comes in shortly after the invention of the technique and was never popular in black-figure. The bowl of the cup passes directly into the stem without interruption, the shape of the foot is a torus, and there is usually a small chamfer on its top surface near the edge.

Cup

Definition
A general term for a two-handled container for drinking. See kylix and skyphos.

Chous

Definition
From the verb 'to pour,' the chous is a broad-bodied jug with a low handle and trefoil mouth. It was used in the Anthesteria festival and as a measure fixed for participants in drinking bouts (3.28 liters). Small choes were used for children's day, when 3-year-olds received them.

Plate

Definition
The plate is not a common shape in clay since it was more likely to have been made of wood. Figured plates (more commonly black-figure) seem to have been made for religious dedications.

Tyrrhenian Amphora

Definition
The Tyrrhenian Amphora or Ovoid Amphora displays less of an obvious shoulder.

Plemochoe

Definition
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.

Little Master Lip Cup

Definition
A variation of the Little Master cup where the lip is more obviously offset than on a band-cup; the most obvious distinction is in the scheme of decoration.

Unguentarion

Definition
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.

Phiale

Definition
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.

Ring Vase

Definition
The ring vase is shaped like a bloated lifebelt with a vertical spout. It is largely a Corinthian and Boeotian shape.

Pyxis Lid

Definition
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.

Lekythos

Definition
Lekythos' is a general word used to denote an oil bottle. The term is now conventionally used for tall and squat shapes with a foot, a single vertical handle, a narrow neck and a small mouth. Sometimes the basic form is fashioned into fancy shapes such as an acorn or an almond, or into a human figure. Some carry appliqué designs.

Covered Cup

Definition
Covered cups are kylikes that are a type of 'trick vase,' that is, they have fixed lids and contain elaborate internal elements designed to deceive or amuse an unwary user. Covered cups were produced in Athens for roughly a century beginning around 540 BCE.

Stand

Definition
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.

Beaked Oinochoe

Definition
The beaked oinochoe is an oinochoe with a trefoil mouth, narrow neck and a body that consists of a little more than a broad shoulder. In Early Protocorinthian, the neck becomes taller and the contour of the body is straightened until it approaches a more or less shallow cone; this shape remains popular in Corinthian pottery until the early 6th c. BCE.

Pointed Aryballos

Definition
The pointed aryballos follows the Middle Protocorinthian ovoid aryballos. In form it is taller and more top-heavy than its precursor, and it first appears in Late Protocorinthian before being replaced by a new, rounded aryballos.

Bail Amphora

Definition
The handles of the bail amphora reach over the mouth. This type of amphora was used for storing and carrying wine, oil, and other commoditities, for serving wine at the table, and as an ash urn for the dead.

Lakaina

Definition
Ancient descriptions equate this term with a Laconian drinking cup with a deep body and two horizontal handles set near the base.

Kalathos

Definition
Meaning 'basket' for wool, etc, the shape in clay usually refers to a quite small handleless conical vessel.

Pyxis Type D

Definition
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.

Column Krater

Definition
The column-krater has an articulated neck, whose wide mouth culminates in a broad rim with an overhaning lip. It takes its name from the two pairs of columnar handles; these attach to handle plates at their top and to the krater shoulder at their base.

Askos

Definition
Meaning 'wine-skin,' the term askos is conventionally (and erroneously) used for a small, flat vase, with narrow sloping spout and handle arching over body. A variant exists in the form of a double-askos.

Epichysis

Definition
The term literally means 'a pouring on.' It is used for a one-handled jug with a long, narrow neck and a reel-shaped body. This vase type is mainly a South Italian product.

Pointed Amphora

Definition
The pointed amphora is an amphora that elongates at the neck and forms a pointed bottom. It was often used for transport.

Little Master Cup

Definition
The term 'Little Master cup' is a translation of the German Kleinmeisterschale, alluding to the small scale of the decorative elements. It has a high-stemmed foot and an offset concave lip. Examples are divided into two categories: lip-cups and band-cups.

Pitcher

Definition
‘Pitcher’ is a generic term for a container with a handle and lip used for pouring liquids. See oinochoe and olpe.

Psykter

Definition
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.

Oinochoe

Definition
The term 'oinochoe' means 'wine-pourer.' The wine jug is fashioned in many varieties (conical, concave, convex) but is usually furnished with a single vertical handle. The mouth can be round, trefoil, or beak-shaped.

Lid

Definition
Lids were associated with a variety of vase shapes. Vessels that generally had lids were the pyxis, lekanis, lebes gamikos, and sometimes the amphora and oinochoe.

Tankard

Definition
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.

One-handled Cup

Definition
A low cup with one handle. The shape is common in Attic black-glazed pottery of the 5th c. and 4th c. BCE.

Mastos

Definition
The name of this vessel comes from the word 'mastos' meaning 'breast,' since the shape of the cup resembles a woman's breast. It is usually furnished with one vertical and one horizontal handle and is sometimes provided with a foot instead of a nipple.

Kylix

Definition
The kylix is a large cup used for drinking wine. It has a relatively shallow bowl, two horizontal handles, and usually, but not necessarily, a high stem above the foot. There are many types of kylix cups such as Komast, Band, Lip, Siana, Type A, and Type B.

Strainer

Definition
The strainer is a perforated bowl that was used for straining wine or, in its larger form, used for cooking.

Amphora

Definition
Meaning 'carry on both sides,' the amphora is made in all fabrics. It has two vertical handles, a wide body, and a narrower neck. Some have a broad foot, some have lids and their size can vary. Used for both liquids and solids, the three main types are: 1) Transport amphora -- a large coarse-ware shape with a long body, small toe and narrow mouth that can be stoppered. 2) Neck amphora -- there are many varieities in fine ware, all sharing an offset neck. In addition, there are specially named variants, e.g. Nikosthenic, Nolan, Panathenaic, and pointed. 3) Belly amphora -- the body and neck form a continuous curve. The forms of handles, mouth, and feet differ among the various types of amphorae.

Amphoriskos

Definition
The small version of the amphora, the amphoriskos is based on the pointed variant of the neck-amphora or transport amphora. Used for perfumed oil, some carry stamped designs.

Phormiskos

Definition
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.

Shoulder Hydria

Definition
The so-called Shoulder Hydria is primarily a black-figure shape and dates mostly from ca. 525 through the second quarter of the fifth century B.C.

Exaleiptron Type B

Definition
The Type B exaleiptron 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 ‘plemochoё’ and (incorrectly) ‘kothon.’ For further information on terminology, see 'exaleiptron.'

Exaleiptron Type A

Definition
The Type A exaleiptron 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 ‘plemochoё’ and (incorrectly) ‘kothon.’ For further information on terminology, see 'exaleiptron.'

Chalcidising Cup

Definition
The Chalcidising Cup is a type of cup produced in Athens ca. 520 BCE that copies a shape made in southern Italy. Most feature eyes on the exterior, some with figures (satyrs, Dionysos, warriors), and a gorgoneion in the interior. Their painters are not named. Findspots are in Etruria, the Black Sea, and Attica.

Volute Krater

Definition
A krater with volutes that curl over the rim, it is the most elaborate vase of its type. The ancient name is Laconian in origin.

Kantharos

Definition
From the Greek word for 'beetle,' the term kantharos is now used conventionally for a drinking cup with two vertical, usually high-swung, handles. The shape, most likley derived from metal vessels, is often shown in the hands of Dionysos, the god of wine. The kantharos has various different forms.

Ring Aryballos

Definition
See ring vase.

Epinetron

Definition
The term refers to a long, semi-circular cover for the knee and thigh, over which wool was drawn to remove dirt. It is wider at the open end where the thigh is thicker and closed at the narrow end to fit over the knee cap. The top of the epinetron is covered with an incised scale pattern, which produced the necessary roughness when the wool was rubbed against it. The shape is uncommon in black-figure.

Psykter Amphora

Definition
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.

Exaleiptron

Definition
The term ‘exaleiptron’ comes from the word meaning ‘to anoint,’ and the shape is a low-lidded bowl with a wide shoulder and high or low 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 ‘plemochoё’ 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.

Pithos

Definition
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).

Fish Plate

Definition
A plate with a low foot, an overhanging rim, and a small depression in the centre of its floor for sauce. When figural, it is usually decorated with fish.

Stemless Cup

Definition
The stemless cup has a shape like a kylix but with a ring foot, not a stem.

Droop Cup

Definition
Named for the scholar who first studied them, Droop cups (pronounced 'Drope') derive their shape from Little Master cups. They have concave black lips marked off more clearly from the body than the Little Master cups, a tall-stemmed foot with a plain fillet and band (sometimes grooved) at the top, and a black toe. There is a broad black band within the hollow foot, in the bowl a reserved band low in the lip, and sometimes a reserved center disc.

Dish

Definition
The name dish is given to almost any sizeable, shallow bowl.

Skyphos

Definition
The skyphos is a deep cup with two horizontal handles at the rim (sometimes one horizontal and one vertical).

Plemochoe Type A

Definition
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.'

Lekanis

Definition
The lekanis is a shallow, lidded bowl with a ring foot and two horizontal handles. It was used for trinkets and was often given as a wedding gift.

Chalice

Definition
The chalice is a cup with a conical foot, a deep wall, and horizontal handles at base of the wall.

Kyathos

Definition
This term indicates a deep ladle with a cup-shaped container and a long handle.

Lebes

Definition
The lebes is a mixing bowl with a spherical body that sits on a stand. It does not have handles or a foot and is often incorrectly called a 'dinos.'

Sprinkler

Definition
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.”

Kotyle

Definition
Used as an alternative for skyphos, the term kotyle refers to a deep cup with two horizontal handles that lacks an offset lip.

Kothon

Definition
The term kothon is used for a variety of different shapes. Some equate it (wrongly) with the exaleiptron, while others use the word to refer to a deep one-handled drinking cup. The vessel is sometimes ribbed and was carried by soldiers and travellers. The word kothon can also refer to the pilgrim flask shape.

Aryballos

Definition
Aryballos is the conventional name for an ovoid or ball-shaped oil pot with one or two handles. Used by athletes, it can be footed or footless. Some aryballoi are potted in the shape of a head, animal, or bird.

Shoulder-handled Amphora

Definition
Originiating in the Protogeometric period, the shape is one of the four types in use at the time. The name is derived from the location of its handles, which are placed on the shoulder of the vessel. The shoulder-handled amphora seems to have been developed in Athens at the beginning of the Protogeometric period but only became popular at the end, when it sometimes replaced the belly-handled amphora in female burials.
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