Frog-Shaped Guttus (Oil Flask)

300s BC

Frog-Shaped Guttus (Oil Flask), 300s BC. South Italian, Apulian. Ceramic; diameter: 1.5 cm (9/16 in.); overall: 5.8 x 11.2 x 9.1 cm (2 5/16 x 4 7/16 x 3 9/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of Keith P. Smith 1985.176 Guttus is a Latin word referring to a small vessel with vertical spout and ring handle, probably used for pouring small amounts of precious liquids. Often, mold-made ceramic gutti take the form of animals, with realistic painted decoration. Here, the lifelike frog features black stripes and alternating black and white circles. The philosopher Plato famously compared the Greeks living along Mediterranean coastlines to “frogs around a pond.”