Glass alabastron (perfume bottle)

Unknown

2nd–1st century BCE · Glass · Greek and Roman Art

Translucent deep cobalt blue, with handles in same color; trail in opaque yellow. Broad, uneven, almost horizontal rim-disk, with rounded edge and wide mouth; cylindrical neck, flaring upwards; small, sloping shoulder; cylindrical body, with slightly convex sides; rounded bottom with central prokecting knob; two horizontal lug handles applied over trail at top of body. Yellow trail attached to rim-disk and wound round edge and down neck in a spiral, tooled into a feather pattern on body in six panels of alternating upward and downward strokes with slightly raised loops around shoulder, ending around bottom. Broken and repaired with some chips and small holes in body; slight dulling and pitting, with iridescent weathering.

Artist

Unknown

Date

2nd–1st century BCE

Medium

Glass

Culture

Greek, Eastern Mediterranean

Department

Greek and Roman Art

Credit line

Gift of Henry G. Marquand, 1881