Unguent bottle (Alabastron)
Unguent bottle (Alabastron)
Place of OriginEastern Mediterranean, possibly from Rhodes, Greece
DateLate 6th through 5th century BCE
DimensionsH: 3 5/8 in. (9.2 cm); Diam: 1 1/16 in. (2.7 cm); Max Diam of Body: 1 in. (2.5 cm)
Mediumglass
ClassificationGlass
Credit LineGift of Edward Drummond Libbey
Object number
1923.190
Not on View
DescriptionThis small alabastron features a blue ground with opaque yellow and turquoise-blue decoration. It has a broad horizontal rim-disk, uneven on both its upper and lower surfaces; a short cylindrical neck; a rounded shoulder; a straight-sided cylindrical body; and a convex bottom, flattened on one side. Below the shoulder are two vertical blue ring handles with knobbed tails.
Unmarvered opaque yellow and turquoise-blue threads are attached at the edge of the rim-disk. A marvered turquoise-blue thread begins on the neck and winds once around the shoulder. A marvered opaque yellow thread is then added, spiraling in irregular horizontal lines before being tooled into a zigzag pattern extending to the middle of the body. A third marvered turquoise-blue thread, mingling with the yellow, continues the decoration, followed by a fourth turquoise-blue thread, also marvered, wound twice horizontally around the lower body. The vessel was manufactured using the core-forming technique and includes applied rim-disk, handles, and both 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. 75, pp. 136-137.
Late 6th through 5th century BCE
5th century BCE
Late 6th through 5th century BCE
Late 6th through 5th century BCE
Probably first half of 5th century BCE
Late 6th through 5th century BCE
Mid-4th through early 3rd century BCE
Late 6th through 5th century BCE
Late 6th to 5th century BCE
Late 4th-early 3rd BCE
5th century BCE
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