Glass amphoriskos (perfume bottle)

Unknown

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

Translucent cobalt blue; handles and base-knob in translucent colorless with pale green tinge, but one handle with additional trail in dark olive green, appearing black; trails in opaque white and opaque yellow . Uneven rim-disk, with rounded edge and sloping inward; tall, slender cylindrical neck, with tooling indents around top; narrow sloping shoulder; elongated, narrow ovoid body; pointed bottom with applied base-knob; two vertical handles applied with separate pads on shoulder, and pressed on to upper neck. Yellow trail applied to edge of rim-disk and wound spirally down neck and across shoulder, a second white applied over yellow at top of body, both tooled into a feather pattern on body in eleven irregular panels of alternating upward and downward strokes, then fine white trail continuing on lower body in a spiral almost two turns but thicker yellow trail continuing and ending on pointed bottom; one irregular patch of yellow over decoration on upper body. Body complete, but most of handles missing; dulling, pitting, faint iridescence, and small patches of milky white weathering.

Artist

Unknown

Date

2nd to mid-1st century BCE

Medium

Glass

Culture

Greek, Eastern Mediterranean

Department

Greek and Roman Art

Credit line

Theodore M. Davis Collection, Bequest of Theodore M. Davis, 1915