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Unguent Bottle

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Image Not Available for Unguent Bottle
Unguent Bottle
Image Not Available for Unguent Bottle

Unguent Bottle

Place of OriginRoman Empire, Eastern Mediterranean or Italy
DateMid-4th through early 3rd century BCE
DimensionsH: 4 7/8 in. (12.4 cm); Diam: 1 7/8 in. (4.8 cm); Max Diam (restored body): 2 in. (5 cm)
MediumGlass; core-formed, applied marvered and unmarvered threads. Reworked in modern times.
ClassificationGlass
Credit LineGift of Edward Drummond Libbey
Object number
1923.335
Not on View
DescriptionThis ancient glass vessel, known as an alabastron, was made using a core-forming technique. It is decorated with marvered and unmarvered colored threads on a cobalt-blue body. Only parts of the original bottle survive, including the rim, neck, and lower body; the rest has been reconstructed. The decoration includes yellow and white threads arranged in vertical feather-like patterns.
Published ReferencesGrose, David F., Early Ancient Glass: Core-formed, Rod-Formed, and Cast Vessels and Objects from the Late Bronze Age to the Early Roman Empire, 1600 B.C. to A.D. 50, New York, Hudson Hills Press in association with the Toledo Museum of Art, 1989, Cat. No. 708, p. 392-393.

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