Terracotta askos (flask with a spout) in the form of a cock

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Askoi shaped like animals were commonly used as lamp fillers; the oil was introduced into the askos via the small inlet off to the side, and was then poured out through a tiny hole under the beak into the lamp in a smooth and controlled stream. Although Magenta ware is believed to have been made across the Graeco-Roman world, the prevalence with which animal-shaped askoi have been found in Italy suggests an Italic origin for this piece as well.

Greek and Roman Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Museum's collection of Greek and Roman art comprises more than thirty thousand works ranging in date from the Neolithic period (ca. 4500 B.C.) to the time of the Roman emperor Constantine's conversion to Christianity in A.D. 312. It includes the art of many cultures and is among the most comprehensive in North America. The geographic regions represented are Greece and Italy, but not as delimited by modern political frontiers: Greek colonies were established around the Mediterranean basin and on the shores of the Black Sea, and Cyprus became increasingly Hellenized. For Roman art, the geographical limits coincide with the expansion of the Roman Empire. The department also exhibits the art of prehistoric Greece (Helladic, Cycladic, and Minoan) and pre-Roman art of Italic peoples, notably the Etruscans.

Metropolitan Museum of Art