Glass perfume bottle

2nd–3rd century CE
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 171
Colorless with blue green tinge.
Tubular rim folded down, over, and in, and pressed into everted mouth; cylindrical neck flaring downward, with irregular shape at top from tooling; broad, almost flat body, with convex side, curving out and downward; pushed-in bottom with central kick and large pontil mark.
Complete except for about half of rim and mouth, and internal cracks in body; some pinprick bubbles; dulling, iridescence, and patches of creamy brown weathering.

This unusually large bottle with its broad, shallow body, belongs to a type that is often called the ‘candlestick unguentarium.’

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Glass perfume bottle
  • Period: Mid Imperial
  • Date: 2nd–3rd century CE
  • Culture: Roman, Cypriot
  • Medium: Glass; blown
  • Dimensions: 9 3/4 in. (24.8 cm)
    Other: 6 1/8 in. (15.6 cm)
    Other (rim): 2 1/4 in. (5.7 cm)
  • Classification: Glass
  • Credit Line: The Cesnola Collection, Purchased by subscription, 1874–76
  • Object Number: 74.51.16
  • Curatorial Department: Greek and Roman Art

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