A Large Preserved Portion of a Late Corinthian Hailstone Warrior Aryballos
- Date
- Ca. 570-550 BC, Lydian
- Sardis or Museum Inv. No.
- P61.226A
- Material
- Ceramic
- Object Type
- Pottery
- Pottery Shape
- Aryballos
- Pottery Ware
- Late Corinthian
- Pottery Attribution
- Site
- Sardis
- Sector
- HoB
- Trench
- HoB
- B-Grid Coordinates
- W9 / S102 *99.20
- Description
Early in LC. A large portion, preserved from the shoulder to near the foot. The eighteen tongues remaining on the shoulder are long, thin, and spaced fairly evenly, but irregular in size. Three glazed lines appear below. On the belly is a frieze of warriors who walk to the right. Three warriors remain, each with a large shield covering his body. The shields have decorative incised centers: one has three vertical incised lines, another has a bird design. The warriors, whose heads are helmeted, hold spears with club-shaped ends. The warriors' faces are repetitive, with long narrow eyes, straight noses and small chins. Thin legs project beneath the shields. Hailstone fillers are placed throughout the field. A ground line of glaze is preserved beneath the warriors. Glaze: almost entirely vanished; black, shiny, and crackled where preserved. Clay: hard, fine, and smooth. Yellow-buff. Munsell no. 10 YR between 8/4 and 7/4 (very pale brown).
The hailstone aryballos was popular in LC, probably because the decoration was quick and showy. Payne assigned the entire group to the second quarter of the sixth century, but newer evidence from Rhitsona suggests that the style is obsolete by the end of the first third of the century.
- Dimensions
- P.H. 0.045; est. diam. 0.065; Th. 0.005
- Comments
- Cf. Payne, NC nos. 1244--49 and p. 320; Ure, Aryballoi 23 (Rhitsona); Corinth VII:1, pl. 43, no. 361; CVA Great Britain 12, Reading 1, III.C., pl. 4, nos. 5, 8, 9 (inv. nos. 26.vii.4, 26.vii.5).
- See Also
- Bibliography
- Published: BASOR 166 (1962) 9, n. 18.
- Author
- JS