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Oil Flask (aryballos)

Date
late 6th–5th century BCE
Material
Glass
associated with
Greece, Europe
Classification
Containers, glassware
Collection
Ancient Art
Current Location
On View, Gallery 259
Dimensions
2 1/2 x 1 1/2 in. (6.4 x 3.8 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of Mansour Gallery
Rights
Public Domain
Object Number
49:1985
NOTES
Despite the beauty of this container, it was the contents inside that were truly valuable. Luxurious oils and sweet-smelling unguents were coveted and used by both men and women in antiquity. The ancient Greeks even used olive oil as a soap by spreading it on their skin and scraping it off with a metal tool called a strigil.
- 1985
Mansour Gallery (Mansour and Nasser Mokhtarzadeh), London, England

1985 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, given by Mansour Gallery [1]

Notes:
[1] Deed of Gift from Mansour Gallery, dated March 26, 1985 [SLAM document files]. Minutes of the Acquisitions Committee of the Board of Trustees, Saint Louis Art Museum, May 23, 1985.

We regularly update records, which may be incomplete. If you have additional information, please contact us at provenance@slam.org.

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