In the ancient lands of the eastern Mediterranean, these types of terracotta vessels were made for transporting oil and wine across land and sea. In Ancient Greece, the main centres of production were in Athens or Euboea. Many examples have been discovered at the bottom of the Mediterranean sea, often the result of ship-wrecks, which indicates the international nature of the trade in oil and wine at this period.

This ovoid shape replaced the long-established eastern form (which was typically neckless, with smaller loop handles), and became more conical with time. As a result, they needed to be supported on a base, when they were not being stacked on their sides during transport.

The pots are of very high quality for the utilitarian job they were designed to do, and in Egypt some were kept to serve for water storage, and even imported empty.