Lekythos were used in ancient Greece to store various liquids such as olive oil or perfumed oils. This one is a self-hawking example. The text between the horses, translated to English, reads, “Buy me and you’ll get a good bargain!”

There were many other examples of these, starting around 750 BCE, normally ad-free, although they did sometimes bear the signature of the potter or painter. They could be very aesthetically pleasing. The finer ones were not everyday use items, but were still affordable enough for a wide range of the population to own for special occasions or just decoration.

Here is a whole one, showing Ajax carrying the body of Achilles, circa 510 BCE.