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LOT 0558
Apulian Terracotta Hare Oil Flask
7TH CENTURY B.C.
3 3/8 in. (82 grams, 86 mm).
Hollow-formed in the shape of a hare at rest with long ears parallel to the spine, vent to the chest; with spot markings to the flanks.
ProvenanceAcquired on the German art market, 1989-1995.
with The Museum Gallery, 19 Bury Place, London, WC1A 2JB, 1998-2003.
Property of a London based academic, 2003-present.
Cf. similar item in Harvard University Art Museums, accession no.2002.283, in Harvard University Art Museums, Annual Report 2002-2003, Cambridge, MA, 2004, p.12.
FootnotesMould-made aryballoi (perfume flasks) in the shapes of animals were popular in Greece in the 7th and 6th centuries B.C. Aristocratic men gave real hares as gifts to younger male lovers; this vessel might have performed a similar function.
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