# Amphoriskos (Container for Oil)

- By: Ancient Mediterranean
- Date: 6th-5th century BCE
- Medium: Glass
- Classification: Vessel
- Dimensions: 5.7 × 2.9 × 2.5 cm (2 1/4 × 1 1/8 × 1 in.)
- Culture: Mediterranean Region
- Credit line: Gift of Theodore W. and Frances S. Robinson
- Museum: [Art Institute of Chicago](https://www.artic.edu/artworks/67449)
- Rights: [Public domain (CC0)](https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/)
- Picture: https://www.artic.edu/iiif/2/d1816b1b-fa6d-d738-2dd7-e2675bf4a8ef/full/!1920,1080/0/default.jpg
- Who can see it: Tweens profiles and older (museums give no ratings; placed by Invisible Network from the museum's own words)

Initially affordable only among the wealthy, glass was used in ancient Rome to create tableware and containers for oils and perfume. The word amphoriskos, Greek for “small amphora,” refers to this object’s shape, a miniature version of the two-handled vessels that contained oil or wine. In the ancient Mediterranean world, scented oils, usually olive oil based, were used rather than alcohol-based perfumes.

Description © Art Institute of Chicago, CC BY 4.0