Olpe (container)

An oenochoe, also spelled oinochoe ( grc, οἰνοχόη; from grc, οἶνος ''oînos'', "wine" and grc, χέω ''khéō'', "I pour," sense "wine-pourer"; plural ''oinochoai''; New Latin ''oenochoë,'' plural ''oenochoae,'' English plural ''oenochoes'' or ''oinochoes''), is a wine jug and a key form of ancient Greek pottery. Intermediate between a pithos (large storage vessel) or amphora (transport vessel), and individual cups or bowls, it held fluid for several persons temporarily until it could be poured. The term ''oinos'' (Linear B wo-no) appears in Mycenaean Greek, but not the compound. The characteristic form was popular throughout the Bronze Age, especially at prehistoric Troy. In classical times for the most part the term ''oinochoe'' implied the distribution of wine. As the word began to diversify in meaning, the shape became a more important identifier than the word. The oinochoe could pour any fluid, not just wine. The English word, pitcher, is perhaps the closest in function.

Beazley's ten types

There are many different forms of oenochoae; Sir John Beazley distinguished ten types. The earliest is the olpe (ὀλπή, ''olpḗ''), with no distinct shoulder and usually a handle rising above the lip. The "type 8 ''oenochoe''" is what one would call a mug, with no single pouring point and a slightly curved profile. The ''chous'' (χοῦς; pl. choes) was a squat rounded form, with trefoil mouth. Small examples with scenes of children, as in the example illustrated, were placed in the graves of children.

Characteristics of oenochoae

Oenochoae may be decorated or undecorated. They typically have only one handle, which may be opposite a trefoil mouth and pouring spout. At its most distinct development, the trefoil mouth offers three alternative directions of pouring, one opposite the handle, and two to the side, an advantage at a crowded table not afforded by English pitchers. Their size also varies considerably; most, at up to tall, could be comfortably held and poured with one hand, but there are much larger examples.

Most Greek oenochoae were in terracotta, but oenochoae of precious metals were not unknown, presumably among elements of society that could afford them, though but few have survived.Silver 'oinochoe'
from the "Tomb of Philip" at Vergina, accessdate=2015-06-24 Large versions in stone were sometimes used as grave markers, often carved with reliefs. In pottery, some oinochoai are "plastic", with the body formed as sculpture, usually one or more human heads.

Prehistoric oenochoae were at first hand-made, unpolished, and undecorated. Low-economy oenochoae remained so, but gradually incised bands with simple motifs such as zig-zags and spirals, or burnished, monochrome surfaces, became common. In the Late Bronze Age the incised bands were painted for a more striking surface, and from then on the Greek oinochoai followed the traditional course of development for Greek decoration. Among the higher-quality pots, quite a few masterpieces have survived.

Gallery of oenochoae

Image:Tithonos_Eos_Louvre_G438.jpg, Oinochoe Shape 1, H. 22 cm (8 ½ inches), diam. 13.5 cm (5 ¼ in.), Eos (Dawn) pursuing Tithonus. Attic red-figure, 470–460 BC
Image:Lampadedromia Louvre N3357.jpg, Oinochoe Shape 2, H. 23.5 cm (9 ¼ in.), diam. 14.3 cm (5 ½ in.), Attic, 4th century
Image:Oinoche_Anthesteria_Louvre_L71.jpg, Oinochoe Shape 3, H. 10.5 cm (4 in.); Diam. 8.1 cm (3 in.)
Image:Javelin thrower Louvre G243.jpg, Oinochoe Shape 7, H. 21 cm (8 ¼ in.), diam. 12.8 cm (5 in.), Javelin thrower. Attic red-figured, ca. 450 BC
File:Geometric jug Antikensammlung Kiel B 21.jpg, Shape 8, 8th century BC
Image:Olpe riders Louvre E647.jpg, Olpe, Corinthian, c. 575–c. 550 BC, height: 25.2 cm (9.9 in). Diameter: 13.1 cm (5.2 in)
File:Greek - Wine Jug with Boy Riding Goat - Walters 4895.jpg, ''Chous'', last decade of the 5th century BC, 9.1 × 7 cm (3.6 × 2.8 in). Probably used in a child's grave.
File:Attic vase in the shape of female head.jpg, Plastic version with woman's head
File:7248 - Piraeus Arch. Museum, Athens - Funerary oinochoe - Photo by Giovanni Dall'Orto, Nov 14 2009.jpg, Funerary oinochoe, with "farewell" scene with a deceased woman, third quarter of the 4th century BC
File:Nova-Zagora-history-museum-oinochoe-1.jpg, Bronze oenochoe, Nova Zagora, Bulgaria, with a trefoil spout
File:LMM - Oinochoe.jpg, Archaic period, 750–600 BC
File:Berlín oinochoe erótico 01.JPG, Oinochoe by the Shuvalov Painter (Berlin F2414) with famous erotic scene
File:Dipylon Inscription.JPG, The Dipylon Inscription, c. 740 BC, perhaps the earliest datable Greek writing
File:Oinochoe, ibex lions, Otterlo Painter, late 7th c BC, Prague Kinsky, NM-H10 4794, 140818.jpg, Squat oinochoe, with ibex and lions, Otterlo Painter, late 7th c BC
File:Apulian red-figure Oinochoe by the White Saccos Workshop Antikensammlung Kiel B 904.jpg, Apulian red-figure Oinochoe by the White Saccos Workshop
File:Oinochoe Odysseus Ajax Louvre F340.jpg, Dispute between Ajax and Odysseus for Achilles' armour. Attic black-figure oinochoe, ca. 520 BC. Kalos inscription. H. 20 cm (7 ¾ in.), diam. 13.7 cm (5 ¼ in.)
Oinochoe iberico cartagena.jpg, Iberian oinochoe with vegetal decoration, Cartagena

See also

* Typology of Greek vase shapes
* Corpus vasorum antiquorum
* Ancient Greek vase painting
* Pottery of ancient Greece

References

External links

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{{Greek vase shapes

Storage vessels
Ancient Greek pot shapes
Wine packaging and storage