Glass squat 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 white. Very broad, thick rim-disk, made as a spiral coil around top of neck; cylindrical neck, tapering downwards; sloping shoulder; slightly elongated bell-shaped cylindrical body; almost flat bottom; on upper body, two vertical ring handles, with long tapering tails, applied over trail pattern. A yellow trail attached at upper edge of rim-disk; on body, alternating bands of yellow and white, tooled from top of body to undercurve at bottom into a regular feather pattern in twelve vertical panels with alternating upward and downward strokes, forming vertical indents in sides and large round loops at bottom and bottom. Body complete, but rim-disk broken and repaired, with part missing; dulling, pitting, and creamy iridescent weathering. Squat alabastra such as these are unusual. The highly weathered surfaces–the result of their being buried in the ground–have obscured the colors and decoration.

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