Unguent Bottle (Amphoriskos)
Unguent Bottle (Amphoriskos)
Place of OriginEastern Mediterranean, possibly from Rhodes, Greece
DateProbably first half of fifth century BCE
DimensionsH: 3 5/16 in. (8.4 cm); Diam: 15/16 in. (2.4 cm); Max Diam of Body: 2 3/16 in. (5.5 cm)
Mediumglass
ClassificationGlass
Credit LineGift of Edward Drummond Libbey
Object number
1923.132
Not on View
DescriptionThis small core-formed bottle, classified as an amphoriskos, has a cobalt-blue ground decorated with opaque yellow and opaque turquoise-blue threads. It features a broad, inward-sloping rim-disk and a rather tall cylindrical neck that meets the shoulder at an obtuse angle. The straight-sided body has a top-shaped profile and terminates in a conical base-knob, which is flat on the underside and pierced at the center. Two vertical cobalt-blue handles extend from the shoulder to the top of the neck.
An unmarvered opaque turquoise-blue thread is attached at the edge of the rim-disk. Below this, a marvered opaque yellow thread begins on the neck and is wound spirally in horizontal lines around the neck and shoulder. The midsection of the body is decorated with a zigzag pattern formed by three wide opaque turquoise-blue threads and several narrow opaque yellow threads, all marvered. Just above the base-knob, one marvered opaque yellow and one marvered opaque turquoise-blue thread are each wound in a single horizontal line. A final marvered opaque yellow thread encircles the edge of the base-knob. The vessel was made by core-forming, with applied and tooled threads, handles, rim-disk, and base-knob.
Published ReferencesHayes, John W., Roman and Pre-Roman Glass in the Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, p. 9.
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. 108, p. 147, Repr. (col.) p. 99.
Puma, Richard Daniel de, Art In Roman Life: Villa to Grave, Rome, L'erma di Bretschneider, 2009, p. 96, no. 109.
4th-3rd century BCE
Late 6th - 5th century BCE
Late sixth through fifth centuries BCE
Late sixth to fifth centuries BCE
Late sixth through fifth centuries BCE
Late sixth through fifth centuries BCE
2nd-1st century BCE
Late sixth through fifth centuries BCE
5th century BCE
6th-5th century BCE
5th century BCE
2nd through mid-1st century BCE
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