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Glass alabastron (perfume bottle)

3rd–2nd century BCE
Not on view
Translucent cobalt blue, with handles in same color; trails in opaque white and opaque yellow.
Cylindrical neck; small, uneven shoulder; cylindrical body, with slightly convex sides, tapering in to uneven rounded bottom with slightly pointed tip; two lug handles applied over trail at top of body, one horizontal, the other probably vertical.
A white trail applied around lower neck and wound down in a spiral slight over four times; a second white trail applied vertically on body and wound round almost horizontally in three irregular lines, and a yellow trail wound down neck in a spiral over white, continuing as a band of close-set horizontal lines around middle of body over second white trail and tooled into a zigzag pattern with carelessly applied tooling strokes, then wound around lower body in another band of five spiral lines and trailed off on bottom. Trails have not been marvered.
Complete body, but with rim-disk and top of neck missing; dulling, pitting, and iridescent weathering.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Glass alabastron (perfume bottle)
  • Period: Hellenistic
  • Date: 3rd–2nd century BCE
  • Culture: Greek, Eastern Mediterranean
  • Medium: Glass; core-formed, Group III
  • Dimensions: H.: 5 3/16 in. (13.2 cm)
    Diam.: 1 5/16 in. (3.4 cm)
    Other: 1 1/2 in. (3.9 cm)
  • Classification: Glass
  • Credit Line: Gift of J. Pierpont Morgan, 1917
  • Object Number: 17.194.592
  • Curatorial Department: Greek and Roman Art

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