Glass alabastron (perfume bottle)

Unknown

late 6th–5th century BCE · Glass · Greek and Roman Art

Translucent cobalt blue, with handles in same color; trails in uncertain colors but probably opaque yellow and opaque turquoise blue. Rounded shoulder; straight-sided body with upward taper; convex bottom; below shoulder, two vertical ring handles with knobbed tails. One fairly broad trail (in yellow?) applied on shoulder and wound down in spiral, then tooled into a close-set zigzag pattern around middle of body, where a second trail (in turquoise blue?) is added, mingling with the first, formed by uneven shallow vertical tooling indents; below this, another narrow trail (in yellow?) wound horizontally around body. Broken and repaired, with one large holes in body near bottom; neck and rim missing; dulling, pitting, iridescence, and thick, milky weathering.

Artist

Unknown

Date

late 6th–5th century BCE

Medium

Glass

Culture

Greek, Eastern Mediterranean

Department

Greek and Roman Art

Credit line

Edward C. Moore Collection, Bequest of Edward C. Moore, 1891