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Glass alabastron (perfume bottle)

late 6th–5th century BCE
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 159
Translucent cobalt blue, with handles in same color; trails in opaque white and opaque yellow.
Slightly concave horizontal rim-disk, formed as a coil, with rough edge to mouth; no perceptible neck or shoulder; slightly convex side to cylindrical body, tapering upwards; rounded bottom, with central point; two vertical ring handles with knobbed tails, applied over trail decoration.
White trail attached at neck under rim-disk, wound down unevenly, tooled into an irregular close-set zigzag pattern, with deep vertical ribs; four separate yellow trails added over white at intervals down sides.
Broken and repaired, with some holes, chips, and cracks, especially on lower body; slight dulling, pitting, and 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: 4 3/8 × 1 3/16 in. (11.2 × 3 cm)
    Diam. of rim: 1 1/16 in. (2.7 cm)
  • Classification: Glass
  • Credit Line: Bequest of Walter C. Baker, 1971
  • Object Number: 1972.118.182
  • Curatorial Department: Greek and Roman Art

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Glass alabastron (perfume bottle)
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Glass alabastron (perfume bottle), Glass, Greek, Eastern Mediterranean
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late 4th–early 3rd century BCE

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