Olpe with volute handle
Olpe with volute handle
Olpe with volute handle
The olpe is made of silver sheet. Its body, shaped like a teardrop, is supported by a low, truncated conical foot; its rounded shoulder tapers into a low, flared neck. With its airy, sinuous outline, the handle lends the vessel an even more elegant shape.
5th century B.C., 6th century B.C.
H : 10 cm (with handle)
In stock
Product Description
The olpe is made of silver sheet. Its body, shaped like a teardrop, is supported by a low, truncated conical foot; its rounded shoulder tapers into a low, flared neck. With its airy, sinuous outline, the handle lends the vessel an even more elegant shape.
The meticulously executed decoration has been incised into the surface: a frieze of precise, regular tongues runs along the shoulder, whilst a magnificent rosette adorns the base of the vessel. The lower attachment of the handle, at the point of maximum diameter, is shaped like a palmette.
The small size of this magnificent hammered silver olpe seems to rule out its use as a jug for serving wine at banquets. It is more likely that it contained a precious liquid, perhaps used to flavour wine or, in a religious context, for specific rituals.
Known only from a few comparable examples (New York, Berlin, Toronto, Oxford), this particular type of jug is generally considered to be a product of the Eastern Greek world and dated to the late Archaic period, between the end of the 6th and the 5th century BC.
