Aryballos in the form of two women's heads conjoined
Unknown Artist
ca. 460 BCE
Medium
Terracotta
Dimensions
Other: 4 1/8 × 2 1/8 × 2 1/2 in. (10.5 × 5.4 × 6.4 cm) Diameter: 13/16 × 1 1/4 in. (2.1 × 3.2 cm)
Classification
Vases
Culture & Period
Greek, Attic · Classical
Department
Greek and Roman Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Rogers Fund, 1923
Accession Number
23.160.34
Tags
Art Historical Context
This delightful terracotta aryballos, shaped as two conjoined women's heads, dates to around 460 BCE, the height of Athens' Classical period. Crafted in Attic Greece, this small vessel—measuring just over 4 inches tall—served as a container for perfumed oils or cosmetics, a common luxury item in ancient Greek daily life. Its whimsical, anthropomorphic form showcases the potter's skill in molding clay to mimic human features, with the heads likely emerging from a spherical body typical of aryballoi, complete with a narrow neck for pouring. In the world of ancient Greek pottery, such plastic va...