# Alabastron (Container for Scented Oil)

- By: Ancient Eastern Mediterranean
- Date: 200-150 BCE
- Medium: Glass, core-formed technique
- Classification: Vessel
- Dimensions: 13.1 × 3.4 × 3.4 cm (5 1/8 × 1 3/8 × 1 3/8 in.)
- Culture: Mediterranean Region
- Credit line: Gift of Theodore W. and Frances S. Robinson
- Museum: [Art Institute of Chicago](https://www.artic.edu/artworks/67524)
- Rights: [Public domain (CC0)](https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/)
- Picture: https://www.artic.edu/iiif/2/792d22c4-74b2-5267-171c-c090ede6b2e2/full/!757,1080/0/default.jpg
- Who can see it: Tweens profiles and older (museums give no ratings; placed by Invisible Network from the museum's own words)

Vessels of this shape were made over the course of hundreds of years and from a variety of materials. The shape may have originated in Egypt and taken its name from the word alabaster, but it was readily replicated in other materials, including terracotta and glass. The broad rim functioned as an applicator for spreading its contents.

Description © Art Institute of Chicago, CC BY 4.0