Glass amphoriskos (perfume bottle)

Unknown

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

Translucent cobalt blue, with handles in same color; trails in opaque yellow and opaque turquoise blue. Deeply inward-sloping rim-disk; cylindrical neck; broad sloping shoulder; top-shaped body; circular base-knob with flat bottom; two vertical strap handles applied to shoulder, drawn up and in, and pressed onto neck. A thick yellow trail attached at edge of rim-disk; another thick yellow trail applied on shoulder, wound in a spiral, then tooled into an uneven zigzag pattern on upper half of body, where a turquoise blue trail is added, mingling with the yellow, forming vertical ridges in sides; below, a yellow and a turquoise blue trail wound horizontally once around body; and a yellow trail wound around base-knob, covering most of bottom. Intact; dulling, pitting, and 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