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Bulbous Flask (Unguentarium)

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Bulbous Flask (Unguentarium)
Image Not Available for Bulbous Flask (Unguentarium)

Bulbous Flask (Unguentarium)

Place of OriginEastern Mediterranean (Syro-Palestinian)
Date2nd-4th century CE
DimensionsH: 8 5/8 in. (22 cm); Rim Diam: 1 3/4 in. (4.5 cm); Body Diam: 2 5/16 in. (5.8 cm)
MediumGlass; free-blown, tooled.
ClassificationGlass
Credit LineGift of Edward Drummond Libbey
Object number
1923.601
Not on View
DescriptionClassified as a glass vessel, this flask—often referred to as a "candlestick unguentarium" due to its resemblance to a modern candlestick—is made from transparent natural pale green glass. It is free-blown and tooled from thin glass, with no visible pontil mark. The lip is outsplayed with a wide hollow rim folded outward, upward, inward, and downward, but not flattened. The tall, tapering neck narrows at its junction with the body. A small, bulbous body less than one-sixth the total height has its greatest diameter near the middle. The flat base features a slight central depression.

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