An alabastron (from Greek ἀλάβαστρον;Alabastron, Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon from the Perseus Project at Tufts University plural: alabastra or alabastrons) is a small type of pottery or glass vessel used in the ancient world for holding oil, especially perfume or massage oils. They originated around the 11th century BC in ancient Egypt as containers carved from alabaster – hence the name – but spread via ancient Greece to other parts of the classical world.