Greek perfumes and cosmetics have long since evaporated or turned to dust,
leaving behind only written references to their importance and the containers
that once held them. From Homer's day forward, precious oils, perfumes, cosmetic
powders, eye shadows, skin glosses and paints, beauty unguents, and even hair
dyes seem to have been in near universal use. Export and sale of these items
formed an important part of trade around the Mediterranean. During the 8th
and 7th centuries BC, overseas markets were dominated by Corinthian, Rhodian
and East Greek perfume flasks and cosmetic containers, including aryballoi,
alabastra, pyxides and other small specialized shapes. Cosmetic unguents were
imported into Greece in containers carved from the Red Sea Tridacna shell.
In the 6th and 5th centuries, with the export market taken over by Attic products,
toilet oil was dispensed in flasks called lekythoi. The pelike was used to
store scented oils or perfumes in bulk. In the Classical
period perfumes continued to be shipped abroad, probably in bulk containers,
and then retailed in terracotta aryballoi and alabastra. Cored glass vessels
began to make their appearance at the same time, in shapes adapted from terracotta
containers.
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Ram-shaped Rhodian Aryballos ca. 650 BC |
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Middle Corinthian Aryballos ca. 595-570 BC |
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Attic Red Figure Pelike ca. 480 BC MS 399 This distinctive shape, characterized by a sagging belly and broad neck, is a variation of the familiar amphora. To judge from the scenes painted on pelikai found in other collections, pots like these were used for, among other things, stocking perfume in shops selling perfumes. H. 29.6; Dia. 20.0 cm. UM neg. S8-120581. |
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