A So-Called Ostrich-Eggshell Vessel at the J. Paul Getty Museum

Abstract

The collection of the J. Paul Getty Museum at the Getty Villa contains an Aegean Bronze Age ceramic jar with stippled decoration that is described as an imitation of the dimpled shell of an ostrich egg. This essay takes a closer look at the historical development of the long scholarly association of ceramic vessel shapes and motifs with the imitation of ostrich-eggshell vessels in the Aegean Bronze Age, deconstructing any meaningful relationship between them. In doing so, it also classifies the Getty jar in current typology and redates it to provide a more precise identification.