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Glass alabastron (perfume bottle)

mid-4th–early 3rd century BCE
Not on view
Translucent cobalt blue, with handles in same color; trail in uncertain color (opaque white ?).
Broad horizontal rim-disk, sloping slightly outward; tall cylindrical neck; narrow horizontal shoulder; straight-sided cylindrical body, with upward taper; convex bottom; below shoulder, two vertical ring handles, both pierced, with short pointed trails, applied over trail pattern.
A single fine trail wound around body, tooled from top to bottom of body into a close-set zigzag pattern in ten vertical panels with deep vertical indents.
Broken and repaired around lower body, with three large holes; some large white inclusions; dulling, deep pitting, and weathering, leaving little trace of the trail decoration.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Glass alabastron (perfume bottle)
  • Period: Late Classical or Hellenistic
  • Date: mid-4th–early 3rd century BCE
  • Culture: Greek, Eastern Mediterranean or Italian
  • Medium: Glass; core-formed, Group II
  • Dimensions: H.: 4 1/2 x 1 3/4 in. (11.5 x 4.5 cm)
    Diam.: 1 13/16 in. (4.6 cm)
  • Classification: Glass
  • Credit Line: Gift of J. Pierpont Morgan, 1917
  • Object Number: 17.194.786
  • Curatorial Department: Greek and Roman Art
More Artwork
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3rd or 4th century BCE (?)
Glass alabastron (perfume bottle), Glass, Eastern Mediterranean or South Italian
Eastern Mediterranean or South Italian
late 4th–early 3rd century BCE
Cauldron attachment: bull's head, Bronze
ca. 7th century BCE
Glass alabastron (perfume bottle), Glass, Greek, Eastern Mediterranean
Greek, Eastern Mediterranean
5th century BCE
Prick Spur, Copper alloy (bronze), Greek or Italic
Greek or Italic
4th–1st century BCE

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