2002.283: Oil flask (aryballos) in the form of a hare

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

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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