Unguent Bottle (Alabastron) with Festoon Pattern
Unguent Bottle (Alabastron) with Festoon Pattern
Place of OriginMesopotamia or Eastern Mediterranean
DateLate 8th or 7th century BCE
DimensionsH: 3 3/8 in. (8.6 cm); Diam: 1 1/8 in. (2.9 cm)
MediumCore-formed; applied, partly marvered threads.
ClassificationGlass
Credit LinePurchased with funds from the Libbey Endowment, Gift of Edward Drummond Libbey
Object number
1961.39
Not on View
DescriptionThis small alabastron has a blue ground, probably decorated with opaque white and possibly yellow threads. It features a short, uneven, asymmetrical outsplayed rim and an uneven cylindrical neck that tapers upward, joining the rounded shoulder at an obtuse angle. The cylindrical body slightly tapers upward and ends in a convex bottom. The decorative partly marvered threads, likely white and/or yellow, were applied starting at the shoulder and wound spirally, first in a single horizontal line, then tooled into a shallow, close-set festoon pattern extending down to the basal angle. The body exhibits closely spaced vertical depressions due to the tooling process. Condition: Complete, except for small chips on the rim and body. Surface displays iridescence and pitting. Cream-colored weathering obscures the original colors, except in tiny areas.
Label TextThis small alabastron, a type of perfume bottle, was made using the core-forming technique, one of the earliest methods of glass production. Its blue body was decorated with spiraling white and possibly yellow threads, manipulated into a festoon pattern. The vessel likely held scented oils or perfumes. Scholars have debated its origin, with some suggesting Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq) and others favoring areas in the Eastern Mediterranean (e.g., Rhodes). Despite its weathered surface, iridescence, and pitting, it remains an important example of early glass craftsmanship.Published ReferencesThe Toledo Museum of Art, Art in Glass: A Guide to the Glass Collections, Toledo, Ohio, 1969, p. 15, ill.
Grose, David F., "Ancient Glass," TMA Museum News 20, no. 3, 1978, p. 72, fig. 5.
Grose, 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. 28, p. 85, repr. (col.) p. 69.
5th-4th century BCE, possibly later
Probably 6th Century BCE
Mid-fourth through early third centuries BCE
Late 6th through 5th century BCE
about 400
Mid-4th through early 3rd centuries BCE
Mid-fourth through early third centuries BCE
4th-3rd century BCE
6th-5th century BCE
Mid-4th through early 3rd century BCE
4th-3rd century BCE
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