Object description
This unique object is a plastic vessel in the form of a hand. It is moulded in the form of a hand clasping a miniature oil jar (lekythos). This was the smallest of the vase shapes produced by Greek workshops at this time.
The painting of the hand in white is significant- this was a Greek convention to indicate that it is a female.
The lekythos, painted black, has a tall neck and a mouth with a broad overhanging rim and small opening for filling and pouring. It most probably contained perfumed oil.
Plastic vessel in the form of a hand/Mineral,Clay/5th to 4th century BC,Classical Greek/The Hunt Collection/PD
Greek vases
Athenian cemeteries housed a variety of monuments and offerings to the dead. One such offering was a lekythos, which forms part of this object. A lekythos (plural lekythoi) is a small Greek vessel that was most often used for grave offerings. More specifically, they were used to pour oil.
This particular vase belongs to a category known as “plastic vases”. Their name derives from the Greek verb “plassein” meaning ‘to mould’. The earliest plastic vases were thrown on the wheel and then modelled after by hand.
The most common of these are referred to as “head vases”, which are jugs or drinking cups with bodies in the shape of moulded human or animal heads. Some rarer versions take the form of shells, small animals or even whole figures holding vases. See an example with the figure of a woman below.
Animals were frequently used as inspiration in the creation of Greek vases, particularly for drinking vessels known as rhyta (singular, rhyton).
Read more about the lekythoi in our collection here: https://www.huntmuseum.com/stories/objects-in-focus/ancient-greek-vesselslekythoi/
Daedalic Plastic Vase/675–650 B.C/
Terracotta/J. Paul Getty Museum, Villa Collection/PD
Sources
The Hunt Museum Essential Guide. Scala Publishers. 2002.
https://kallosgallery.com/blog/48-ancient-greek-plastic-vases/