Glass alabastron (perfume bottle)

Unknown

late 4th–early 3rd century BCE · Glass · Greek and Roman Art

Translucent cobalt blue, with handles in same color; trails in opaque yellow and opaque turquoise blue. Broad rim-disk, made as a spiral coil around top of neck; broad cylindrical neck; rounded shoulder; almost cylindrical body, with slightly convex sides tapering upwards; almost flat bottom, slightly concave at center; on body, two small solid, rounded knob handles, applied over trail pattern. A yellow trail attached at edge of rim-disk; a yellow and a turquoise trail applied at top of body, wound down to bottom in a spiral of alternating lines, and tooled into a fairly regular close-set zigzag pattern with alternating upward and downward strokes. Intact, except for small chip on underside of rim-disk broken; dulling, pitting, and slight iridescent weathering.

Artist

Unknown

Date

late 4th–early 3rd century BCE

Medium

Glass

Culture

Greek, Eastern Mediterranean or Italian

Department

Greek and Roman Art

Credit line

Gift of J. Pierpont Morgan, 1917