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Identification and Creation

Object Number
2002.283
Title
Oil flask (aryballos) in the form of a hare
Classification
Vessels
Work Type
vessel
Date
650-600 BCE
Places
Creation Place: Ancient & Byzantine World, Europe, Corinth (Corinthia)
Period
Orientalizing period
Culture
Greek
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/97312

Location

Location
Level 3, Room 3740, Ancient Mediterranean and Middle Eastern Art, Ancient Egypt: Art for Eternity
View this object's location on our interactive map

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Terracotta
Technique
Mold-made
Dimensions
8 x 7.4 x 4 cm (3 1/8 x 2 15/16 x 1 9/16 in.)

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History
From the collection of Herbert A. Cahn. Purchased at auction October 18, 2002.
Jean-David Cahn AG, Auktion 3, 18 October 2002, Basel. Kunstwerke der Antike: Sammlung Tilly und Herbert A. Cahn. Lot 18.

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Purchase through the generosity of Claude Grenier in honor of James Cuno
Accession Year
2002
Object Number
2002.283
Division
Asian and Mediterranean Art
Contact
am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
Permissions

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Descriptions

Description
Small Protocorinthian oil vessel in the shape of a hare. Bobbin-shaped (wheelmade?) body rests on folded legs. Back paws are thin and sausage-shaped. Front paws are large and wedge-shaped. Hemispherical tail. Small, moldmade (?) head with filling hole at top. Large modeled eyes, small pierced nostrils, incised mouth. Pointy ears are raised. Small hole for suspension connects ears to back of body.

Pale buff-orange body with details in orange and dark brown slip. Body stippled all over in orange slip. Point of juncture between body and legs filled with orange slip, with some dark brown details. Back haunch delineated in orange. Modeled eye slipped dark brown with orange eyelashes extending beyond a dark brown eyebrow. Mouth detailed in brown slip. Ear outlined in brown, with interior slipped orange.

Significant flaking of slip. Repair at chest.
Commentary
Re-View Exhibition, Spring 2008, gallery label information:

Aryballos in the Shape of a Hare
Greek, Proto-Corinthian, c. 630 BCE
Terracotta
Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Purchase through the generosity of Claude Grenier in honor of James Cuno, 2002.283

Mold-made aryballoi (perfume flasks) in the shapes of animals were popular in Greece in the seventh and sixth centuries BCE. Aristocratic men gave real hares as gifts to younger male lovers; this vessel might have performed a similar function.

Publication History

  • [Reproduction Only], Persephone, (Fall 2004)., p. 57.
  • Harvard University Art Museums, Harvard University Art Museums Annual Report 2002-2003 (Cambridge, MA, 2004), p. 12.
  • Stephan Wolohojian, ed., Harvard Art Museum/Handbook (Cambridge, Massachusetts, 2008)

Exhibition History

  • Re-View: S422 Ancient & Byzantine Art & Numismatics, Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Cambridge, 04/12/2008 - 06/18/2011
  • 32Q: 3740 Egyptian, Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 06/01/2022 - 05/01/2026
  • 32Q: 3620 University Study Gallery, Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 08/22/2016 - 01/08/2017

Subjects and Contexts

  • Collection Highlights

Verification Level

This record has been reviewed by the curatorial staff but may be incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of Asian and Mediterranean Art at am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu