Flask

Hammered bronze or copper flask with short, flaring ring base, globular, slightly angular body, thin, tapering neck. Constructed of a sheet of copper or bronze for body, a separate sheet for ring-base, attached with solder. Surface covered with silver foil, worn in many places. Beaten and punched decoration in bands covering body and neck, each register set off by rows of punched dots enclosed by incised lines, from bottom upward: pendant tongues, wave pattern running to left, vertical hatching, deeper band of ivy leaves, vertical lozenges/ovolo, wave pattern running to right, cross hatching, horizontal palmettes, vertical, feather-like palmettes. Broken across rim, chipped and dented, with evidence of many old mends. Very probably from the same tomb as M10075, which differs only slightly in its stock ornament. This was a popular funerary offering, made to hold unguents, during the Hellenistic period, and usually had suspension chains attached to their caps.