Glass unguentarium (perfume bottle)

Unknown

3rd century BCE · Glass · Greek and Roman Art

Translucent cobalt blue, with handles in same color; trails in opaque white and opaque yellow. Uneven horizontal rim-disk, with rounded edge; tall cylindrical neck; broad sloping shoulder; ovoid body; applied tall outsplayed foot, with rounded edge and deep tooled indent in center of flat bottom; below shoulder, two flattened loop handles projecting at an upward angle from body, applied over trail pattern. A white trail attached to neck and wound down in a spiral and across shoulder, tooled from top of body in a close-set zigzag pattern with deep vertical ribs, then continuing down in a spiral and ending in two horizontal lines around lower body; a yellow trail applied over white halfway down zigzag pattern and continuing immediately below in four close-set horizontal lines. Complete, except for large chip in rim-disk and projecting loop of one handle; slight dulling and pitting, but very little weathering.

Artist

Unknown

Date

3rd century BCE

Medium

Glass

Culture

Greek, Eastern Mediterranean

Department

Greek and Roman Art

Credit line

Bequest of Walter C. Baker, 1971