perfume bottle

Object NamePerfume Bottles (Alabastra)

Made FromGlass

Date199-1 BCE

Place MadeEastern Mediterranean

Techniquecore-formed, trail decorated, tooled

SizeOverall H: 16.1 cm, Diam: 3.3 cm

Accession Number66.1.229

Curatorial Area(s)

Ancient

Exhibitions

The Fragrant Past: Perfumes of Cleopatra and Julius Caesar

On ViewAncient Gallery

Physical DescriptionPerfume Bottles (Alabastra). Translucent deep blue glass with opaque white and yellow trail decoration, bubbly with many small bubble holes on surface, thin, highly iridescent film over entire surface; core-formed, trail decorated and tooled. Flared horizontal rim, decorated with wide yellow trail around lip, tapers into long cylindrical neck before spreading out at shoulder and down into a slightly larger long cylindrical body with rounded base; a single trail of yellow runs diagonally down neck and is wound three times on neck and shoulder, three times on upper body before winding diagonally down to form a band of six trails and continues diagonally down to wind around the body three times before terminating at base; an opaque white trail is applied at the lower neck and follows the yellow trail down to the base, all trails are marvered-in and the central register is dragged in a wide feather pattern up and down six times; two small non-functional blobs are applied below the shoulder as decorative handles.
Provenance

Source Sergio Sangiorgi (Italian) - 1966

Former Collection Giorgio Sangiorgi (Italian, 1886-1965)