Glass alabastron (perfume bottle)

Unknown

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

Translucent cobalt blue, with handles in same color; trail in opaque white. Inward-sloping irregular rim-disk with rounded edge and radiating tooling marks on upper surface; cylindrical neck, expanding downward; straight-sided fusiform body expanding downward, then tapering in to pointed bottom; two horizontal lug handles applied over trail at top of body. Trail applied at bottom, wound upwards in a spiral to carination, tooled into a festoon around side, with twelve upward strokes, then wound again in a spiral up neck and partially around rim, and trailed off with backward swirl down neck. Intact, but one handle completely missing; dulling, pitting, and faint iridescence. Blue, with white wave pattern; two solid handles.

Artist

Unknown

Date

2nd–mid-1st century BCE

Medium

Glass

Culture

Greek, Eastern Mediterranean

Department

Greek and Roman Art

Credit line

Gift of J. Pierpont Morgan, 1917