Agora Object: Agora XXIX, no. 1756
Dimensions:   H. 12.8; Diam. 6.4.
Chronology:   Context of 325-300
Deposit:   J 5:1, V
Published Number:   AV 29.1756
References:   Object: P 28745
Jug With Thin Neck.

Intact.

Raised base with flaring profile; concave underside. Pear-shaped body. Long, thin neck. Flaring rim with angular profile, concave to inside. Strap handle from shoulder to halfway up neck. Soft, fine, micaceous, pink fabric (7.5YR 7/4) with a few large, white inclusions; dull black-to-brown glaze to within 2 cm. of foot, interior unglazed.

The type is represented at the Agora by two nearly identical pieces (this and the following); an earlier, completely glazed version, with broader foot, comes from lower levels of the same well (P 29161, J 5:1, VII). Two more, semiglazed like ours, come from 4th-century graves in the Kerameikos (Knigge 1966, nos. 151:2, 155:2, pp. 88--89, pl. 58, the latter found with a kantharos dating around 300 [ibid., no. 155:1]). The shape is therefore probably limited to the second half of the 4th century, with semiglazed examples dating in the last quarter. The form of the mouth and the fact that J 5:1 contained many lekythoi suggest that the vessel was used for oil, although it resembles the footed olpe in shape (cf. P 26030 [Agora XII, no. 283, p. 255, pl. 13]). The rarity of the shape, the quality of the glaze, the semiglazing, and the fabric of 1756 suggest these pieces may be imports, though local manufacture is not precluded.