Unguent Bottle (Amphoriskos)

Place of OriginEastern Mediterranean or Italy

DateMid-4th through early 3rd century BCE

DimensionsH: 5 7/16 in. (13.8 cm); Diam: 1 11/16 in. (4.3 cm); Max Diam of Body: 2 5/8 in. (6.7 cm); Diam of Base: 1 1/16 in. (2.7cm)

Mediumglass

ClassificationGlass

Credit LineGift of Edward Drummond Libbey

Object number

1923.185

Not on View

DescriptionThis large amphoriskos has a cobalt-blue ground with white speckles, decorated with opaque white and opaque yellow threads. It features a broad, inward-sloping rim-disk, uneven on its upper surface; a cylindrical neck with a tapering profile; an obtuse-angled junction with a rounded shoulder; and a tall, ovoid body. The convex bottom terminates in a moderately broad, circular cobalt-blue pad-base with a rounded edge and a small central depression on the underside. Two vertical cobalt-blue strap handles extend from the shoulder to the middle of the neck. An unmarvered opaque yellow thread is attached at the edge of the rim-disk. A second unmarvered opaque yellow thread begins at the middle of the neck and is wound spirally three times in horizontal lines. A marvered opaque white thread, begun on the shoulder, is wound in wavy horizontal lines before being tooled into a feather pattern. This pattern, arranged in ten vertical panels, extends below the basal angle where it terminates in loops. An additional unmarvered opaque yellow thread is wound around the edge of the pad-base. Manufactured using the core-forming technique, the vessel includes applied rim-disk, handles, and pad-base, as well as applied marvered and unmarvered threads.

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. 141, p. 159, Repr. (col.) p. 103.