Bust Thymiateria from Olbia Pontike

Abstract

Terracotta female busts supporting cup-thymiateria on their heads are best known in south Italian examples of the Hellenistic period. A cup in the shape of a flower, such as a lotus, was attached to the heads of these busts and was used for burning incense, or thymiam, during religious practices. While some bust thymiateria appeared at the end of the 5th century B.C.E. in Olynthus and Halicarnassos, the greatest number have been found in Italy, where they occurred first at Posdeidonia in the ...