Amphoriskos (Container for Oil)
600-575 BCE
terracotta, black-figure
16.5 × 8.4 cm (6.5 × 3.3 in)
SEE IT IN PERSON
● On view now — Gallery 151
Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago · verified July 2026
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FROM THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO’S CATALOG
Located on the narrow isthmus that joins the Greek mainland and the Peloponnese, with natural harbors facing east and west, Corinth was the major port of trade in Greece for most of the Archaic period (700–480 BCE). Producers exported scented oil around the Mediterranean in terracotta containers like this one known as an amphoriskos, literally a "little amphora," that survive today in the thousands.
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