Askos

An assymetric vessel, often squat and duck-shaped, with an off-center mouth, convex top, and single arching handle. It was originally shaped like a leather bottle (uter) for holding water, oil, or wine. Some example have two mouths, one for filling and one for emptying, and others are quite unbalanced and have strange mouths. It later assumed the form of an earthenware pitcher. Askos were popular in the Aegean from the Early Helladic to the Classical period.

The Athenian askos (pl. askoi) is a small, round vessel with a flat bottom and an over-arching handle that joins the obliquely-angled neck. There is little room for extensive decoration, and often a pair of figures suffices.

The Greek word askos refers to the bags made of animal-skin that were used to carry wine; in Athenian red-figure scenes, they are often depicted in the arms of satyrs. Its modern application to this pottery-shape originates in the supposed similarity of some examples to animal-skins.

[Greek: ‘bag’]. An oil-jug. Normally squat in shape, with convex top and arching handle. Examples are sometimes rather unbalanced with eccentric mouth. As with aryeallos, the term perhaps transfers from earlier leather artefacts.

An assymetrical vessel, often squat and duck-shaped, with an off-center mouth, convex top, and single arching handle. It was originally shaped like a leather bottle (uter) for holding water, oil, or wine. Some examples have two mouths, one for filling and one for emptying, and others are quite unbalanced and have strange mouths. It later assumed the form of an earthenware pitcher. Askos were popular in the Aegean from the Early Helladic to the Classical period. From the Greek for “bag.”