Glass amphoriskos (perfume bottle)

Unknown

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

Translucent dark cobalt blue, with handles in same color; trails in opaque yellow and opaque turquoise blue. Broad inward-sloping rim-disk; cylindrical neck, expanding slightly downwards; broad, angular shoulder; tall conical body, tapering downwards to pointed bottom; two vertical strap handles applied to top of shoulder, drawn up, and pressed onto underside of rim-disk. One yellow trail attached at edge of rim-disk; another yellow trail applied to neck and wound in a spiral across shoulder and around top of body, then tooled into an uneven zigzag pattern on upper half of body, where a turquoise blue trail is added, mingling with the yellow; below this, both trails drawn down and wound horizontally once around lower body. Complete, except for base-knob; parts of trails completely weathered, leaving only indentation in body; dulling, pitting, and faint iridescence.

Artist

Unknown

Date

late 6th–5th century BCE

Medium

Glass

Culture

Greek, Eastern Mediterranean

Department

Greek and Roman Art

Credit line

Gift of J. Pierpont Morgan, 1917