Glass flask decorated with intersecting circles

Unknown

2nd–3rd century CE · Glass · Greek and Roman Art

Translucent colorless with pale greenish tinge. Plain rounded rim; upper half of neck funnel-shaped, then cylindrical; horizontal shoulder, slightly pushed in on one side, above vertical collar; spherical body; slightly projecting solid edge to base with uneven concave bottom; no pontil mark. Body blown into a four-part mold of three vertical sections, extending to top of collar, joined to a shallow, disk-shaped base section. On body, sunken relief design of nine interlocking circles with a dot at the center of each circle, bordered above and below by a double row of smaller dots; on bottom, two faint raised circles around a small central knob. Intact; some bubbles; dulling, patchy weathering and iridescence. L. P. di Cesnola mistakenly identified this vase’s provenance as Idalion, Cyprus, and published it as such in his "Descriptive Atlas of the Cesnola Collection." This incorrect provenance was later repeated by Kisa 1908, Myres 1914, and Stern 1995.

Artist

Unknown

Date

2nd–3rd century CE

Medium

Glass

Culture

Roman

Department

Greek and Roman Art

Credit line

Gift of Henry G. Marquand, 1881