Miniature Oinochoe

This miniature vessel is in the shape of an oinochoe with a handle and flat bottom. The mouth is triangular; a cylindrical hole is visible at the top of the vase, which goes some way into the miniature vessel. The handle makes a high arch before attaching to the body of the vessel. It may have been a pendant, a miniature votive, or part of a larger, more elaborate bronze group (1). NOTES: 1. Compare 2012.1.31, and M. Comstock and C. C. Vermeule, Greek, Etruscan and Roman Bronzes in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (Greenwich, CT, 1971) 314, no. 440, although the vessel shape is longer, thinner, and has a smaller and more pronounced foot. The MFA catalogue indicates that similar vessels were used as votives, toys, or weights. Compare also S. Tassinari, La Vaisselle de bronze romaine et provinciale au Musée des Antiquités Nationales, Gallia Suppl. 39 (Paris, 1975) 62, no. 159, pl. 30 (provenance unknown, then in collection Courtot, inv. no. 415). Lisa M. Anderson