Glass amphoriskos (perfume bottle)
Translucent purple but streaked with light blue especially around lower body, with handles and base-knob also in translucent light blue; trails in opaque yellow and turquoise blue.
Inward-sloping rim-disk; cylindrical neck; uneven angular shoulder; ovoid body, tapering downwards to pointed bottom; applied small circular base-knob with rounded edge and small indent at center of slanting bottom; two strap handles applied to top of shoulder and drawn up and in, forming oval rings on sides of neck.
One yellow trail attached at edge of rim-disk; another thick yellow trail applied to shoulder and wound in a spiral around to top of body, then tooled into a close-set zigzag pattern on upper body, where a turquoise blue trail is added, mingling with the yellow; below this, a third fine yellow trail wound horizontally twice around lower body.
Intact; slight dulling and pitting, with small patches of iridescent weathering.
Glass vessels such as these first appeared in the Greek world late in the sixth century B.C. They originally contained perfumes or scented oils used in funerary rites, after which the bottles were left in the grave.
Inward-sloping rim-disk; cylindrical neck; uneven angular shoulder; ovoid body, tapering downwards to pointed bottom; applied small circular base-knob with rounded edge and small indent at center of slanting bottom; two strap handles applied to top of shoulder and drawn up and in, forming oval rings on sides of neck.
One yellow trail attached at edge of rim-disk; another thick yellow trail applied to shoulder and wound in a spiral around to top of body, then tooled into a close-set zigzag pattern on upper body, where a turquoise blue trail is added, mingling with the yellow; below this, a third fine yellow trail wound horizontally twice around lower body.
Intact; slight dulling and pitting, with small patches of iridescent weathering.
Glass vessels such as these first appeared in the Greek world late in the sixth century B.C. They originally contained perfumes or scented oils used in funerary rites, after which the bottles were left in the grave.
Artwork Details
- Title: Glass amphoriskos (perfume bottle)
- Period: Classical
- Date: 5th century BCE
- Culture: Greek, Eastern Mediterranean
- Medium: Glass; core-formed, Group I
- Dimensions: H. 2 7/8 in. (7.3 cm); diameter of mouth 1 9/16 in. (4 cm)
- Classification: Glass
- Credit Line: Gift of J. Pierpont Morgan, 1917
- Object Number: 17.194.782
- Curatorial Department: Greek and Roman Art
More Artwork
A slider containing 5 items.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
Greek
last quarter of the 6th century BCE
Princeton Group
ca. 540–530 BCE
Greek, Eastern Mediterranean
late 6th–5th century BCE
Greek, Eastern Mediterranean
late 6th–5th century BCE
Greek, Eastern Mediterranean
late 6th–5th century BCE
Research Resources
The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.
To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.
Feedback
We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.