Glass alabastron (perfume bottle)

Unknown

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

Translucent cobalt blue, with handles in opaque white; trail in opaque greyish light blue. Inward-sloping rim-disk with thick rounded edge; slender cylindrical neck, slanting to one side and flaring at base; straight-sided fusiform body expanding downward, then tapering in to pointed bottom; two large horizontal lug handles applied over trail at top of body. Trail applied near bottom, wound upwards in a spiral to carination, tooled into a close-set feather pattern around side, arranged in nine panels of alternating upward and downward strokes, then wound again in a spiral up neck and unevenly around rim, and trailed off vertically downwards across neck to top of body. Broken and repaired, with three holes in middle of body; dulling and pitting, with faint iridescent weathering.

Artist

Unknown

Date

2nd–mid 1st 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