The Sanctuary of the Nymphe: Korai, Perfumed Oil, and Plasticity in Devotional Practices

Beginning in the Archaic period of the ancient Greek world, we observe the phenomenon of perfumed oil vessels being manufactured in forms that resemble other things- humans, body parts, animals, fruits, shells, or other elements of the natural or supernatural world. These vessels, referred to as ‘plastic’ in shape, circulate across the ancient Mediterranean from their various sites of production (Corinth, Rhodes, Ionia, and later Athens). Plastic perfumed oil vessels were complex to manufacture, and as well as being produced in limited quantities compared to their standard counterparts (aryballoi, alabastra, and lekythoi), they are typically found in devotional or funerary contexts.

This lecture presents a case study on four plastic oil vessels in the form of korai (maidens), manufactured in Attica between 550 – 500 BCE and excavated from the Sanctuary of the Nymphe on the southern slope of the Athenian Acropolis. Together, we will explore how the multisensory interactive mechanics of these plastic vessels- as sites of simultaneously olfactory, haptic, and visual engagement- could uniquely contribute to both their function and value as devotional and aesthetic objects. By examining the tension between ‘real’ and ‘manufactured’ that is produced by the particularly synesthetic qualities of these vessels, this lecture hopes to situate an understudied class of materials within wider critical issues of aesthetic practice in the Archaic period, as is similarly expressed in more well-known media such as sculpture and epic poetry.

Online with Zoom: https://utoronto.zoom.us/j/81730003190