An alabastron or alabastrum (; plural: ''alabastra'' or ''alabastri'' (ἀλάβαστρα or ἀλάβαστα)) is a small tapering or pear-shaped vessel, having no feet, used for holding

perfume Perfume (, ) is a mixture of fragrance, fragrant essential oils or aroma compounds (fragrances), Fixative (perfumery), fixatives and solvents, usually in liquid form, used to give the human body, animals, food, objects, and living-spaces an agre ...

s or massage oils.A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities (1890), Alabastrum
/ref> They originated around the 11th century BC in

ancient Egypt Ancient Egypt () was a cradle of civilization concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in Northeast Africa. It emerged from prehistoric Egypt around 3150BC (according to conventional Egyptian chronology), when Upper and Lower E ...

and spread via

ancient Greece Ancient Greece () was a northeastern Mediterranean civilization, existing from the Greek Dark Ages of the 12th–9th centuries BC to the end of classical antiquity (), that comprised a loose collection of culturally and linguistically r ...

to other parts of the classical world. The first mention of such scent bottles comes from

Herodotus Herodotus (; BC) was a Greek historian and geographer from the Greek city of Halicarnassus (now Bodrum, Turkey), under Persian control in the 5th century BC, and a later citizen of Thurii in modern Calabria, Italy. He wrote the '' Histori ...

, who refers to a myrrh alabastron (μύρου ἀλάβαστρο) as one of the gifts sent by Cambyses to the king of Ethiopia. They were originally crafted from

alabaster Alabaster is a mineral and a soft Rock (geology), rock used for carvings and as a source of plaster powder. Archaeologists, geologists, and the stone industry have different definitions for the word ''alabaster''. In archaeology, the term ''alab ...

, particularly the onyx-alabaster variety, which was commonly used for this purpose. However, it's uncertain whether the vessels were named after the material or if the material was named after the vessels. They can also be made from stone and terra-cotta, with other materials like glass and even gold (χρύσεια ἀλάβαστρα) being used as well. Most types of alabastron have a narrow body with a rounded end, a narrow neck and a broad, splayed mouth. They were often left without handles, but some types were equipped with ear-shaped projections or lugs into which holes were punched. Strings were then put through these holes for easy mobility. The design of the first Egyptian alabastra was inspired by the

palm tree The Arecaceae () is a family of perennial, flowering plants in the monocot order Arecales. Their growth form can be climbers, shrubs, tree-like and stemless plants, all commonly known as palms. Those having a tree-like form are colloquially c ...

, with a columnar shape, a palm capital and a stand. Later designs were made from

glass Glass is an amorphous (non-crystalline solid, non-crystalline) solid. Because it is often transparency and translucency, transparent and chemically inert, glass has found widespread practical, technological, and decorative use in window pane ...

decorated with various patterns, such as

scallop Scallop () is a common name that encompasses various species of marine bivalve molluscs in the taxonomic family Pectinidae, the scallops. However, the common name "scallop" is also sometimes applied to species in other closely related famili ...

festoon A festoon (from French ''feston'', Italian ''festone'', from a Late Latin ''festo'', originally a festal garland, Latin ''festum'', feast) is a wreath or garland hanging from two points, and in architecture typically a carved ornament depicti ...

s, or abstract patterns of rings or zigzags. Around the 7th century BC, alabastra spread to Greece and became an important element of

ancient Greek pottery Pottery, due to its relative durability, comprises a large part of the archaeological record of ancient Greece, and since there is so much of it (over 100,000 painted vases are recorded in the Corpus vasorum antiquorum), it has exerted a dispro ...

. There were three distinct types of Greek alabastron: * A basic

Corinth Corinth ( ; , ) is a municipality in Corinthia in Greece. The successor to the ancient Corinth, ancient city of Corinth, it is a former municipality in Corinthia, Peloponnese (region), Peloponnese, which is located in south-central Greece. Sin ...

ian bulbous shape standing about tall; a popular design found throughout Greece. * A long and pointed version commonly seen in eastern Greek, Etruscan, and Italo-

ian pottery. * An

Attic An attic (sometimes referred to as a '' loft'') is a space found directly below the pitched roof of a house or other building. It is also known as a ''sky parlor'' or a garret. Because they fill the space between the ceiling of a building's t ...

type about long with a rounded base and lugs for carrying purposes. Alabastra also appeared in many other places in the ancient world, notably

Assyria Assyria (Neo-Assyrian cuneiform: , ''māt Aššur'') was a major ancient Mesopotamian civilization that existed as a city-state from the 21st century BC to the 14th century BC and eventually expanded into an empire from the 14th century BC t ...

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

and

Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

, all having presumably been inspired by or exported from Greece or Egypt. Within a hundred years after arriving in the area, Greek artisans were producing elaborately decorated silver alabastra, long and narrow and in height. The decoration usually involved dividing the body of the vase into four horizontal zones by ornamental bands around it. An alabastrotheca (ἀλαβαστροθήκη or ἀλαβαστοθήκη) was a box or casket for storing alabastra or a holder used to keep the bottles upright when not in use, as their rounded bottoms made them unable to stand on their own.A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities (1890), Alabastrotheca
/ref>

References

Bibliography

* "Alabastron." ''Encyclopædia Britannica''. 2006 {{Authority control Ancient Greek pot shapes Perfumery Massage Ancient Roman glassware Alabaster

See also

References

Bibliography