Glossary Pottery and vessels
Piriform
Pear-shaped: a vessel body widest near the shoulder and tapering towards a narrow base, a term used especially for Mycenaean jars.
Archaeologists describe vessel bodies by comparison with familiar shapes: globular, ovoid, biconical, piriform. A piriform body swells high up and narrows gradually downwards, often to a small foot. The terms describe outlines only, so the same word can apply to vessels of quite different wares and dates.
The word is most often met in the phrase "piriform jar", a Mycenaean closed shape with three small handles on the shoulder used for storing and transporting oils. Such jars reached Cyprus as imports and were imitated locally in the Late Bronze Age. See also the Mycenaeans and Cyprus.
Related terms
- Stirrup jar
A closed jar with a solid false neck on top, bridged by two handles like a stirrup, and a separate spout on the shoulder for pouring oil.
- Carination
A sharp angle in the profile of a vessel where the wall changes direction, as in a bowl or cup with a distinct shoulder.