Glass alabastron (perfume bottle)

late 6th–5th century BCE
Not on view
Translucent cobalt blue, with handles in same color; trails in opaque yellow and opaque pale turquoise blue.
Broad uneven rim-disk with radiating tooling marks on upper surface; short, funnel-shaped neck; rounded shoulder; elongated oval body with upward taper; convex bottom; below shoulder, two vertical ring handles with knobbed tails, applied over trails.
One yellow trail attached at edge of rim-disk; another applied on shoulder and wound down in spiral on upper part of body, where a second broader trail in turquoise blue is added, mingling with the first, then both tooled into a close-set zigzag pattern around middle of body, formed by uneven shallow vertical tooling indents; below this, another broad turquoise blue trail wound unevenly around lower part of body.
Complete except for part of rim-disk, with cracks around body; dulling, pitting, slight iridescence, and milky weathering.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Glass alabastron (perfume bottle)
  • Period: Classical
  • Date: late 6th–5th century BCE
  • Culture: Greek, Eastern Mediterranean
  • Medium: Glass; core-formed, Group I
  • Dimensions: H.: 4 5/8 in. (11.7 cm)
  • Classification: Glass
  • Credit Line: Edward C. Moore Collection, Bequest of Edward C. Moore, 1891
  • Object Number: 91.1.1410
  • Curatorial Department: Greek and Roman Art

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