Shell

Carved from a single block of marble, this vessel takes the shape of a type of shell found in the Mediterranean Sea known as Pelican’s Foot (Aporrhais pespelecani). For this marble version, the sculptor carefully reproduced on a much larger scale every detail of the real shell, which would typically be three to four inches in length. This vessel was used for pouring ritual libations. Only a few other shell-shaped marble vessels have survived from antiquity, and comparable examples demonstrate where the Getty’s vessel is missing the pouring area. The shell consists of a concave shape comprising its body from which eight spines radiate. A smaller spire is articulated with spiral-shaped ridges. The original pouring spout was broken off from that element. Traces of red pigment on the surface of the vessel indicate that it was originally painted.

This marble shell has been hollowed out to serve as a libation vessel. The pouring of libations, or liquid offerings to the gods, was an essential part of Greek religion. The sculptor drilled through the body of the vessel in order to form a trough-like opening at one end and another smaller opening on the side just below the base of the spines. A worshipper would have poured or dipped liquid into the large opening at the end of the shell, from which it would trickle out over the fan and spiky lip of the shell.

Only a few other shell-shaped marble vessels have survived from antiquity. An inventory engraved on stone from the Sanctuary of Asklepios in Athens records the dedication of such an object in the year 329 B.C.