Fragment of Unguent Bottle (Krateriskos) from Amarna

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Fragment of Unguent Bottle (Krateriskos) from Amarna

Place of OriginEgypt, excavated at Tell el-Amarna

Date1400-1350 BCE

Dimensions3/8 x 1 9/16 x 1/16 in. (1 x 4 x 0.2 cm)

MediumCore formed; applied marvered and unmarvered threads.

ClassificationGlass

Credit LineGift of the Egypt Exploration Society, London

Object number

1925.1063

Not on View

DescriptionFragment of the rim and side of a small krateriskos with a dark blue ground and opaque white decoration. The short, horizontal rim has a rounded edge, with vestiges of a cylindrical neck. A marvered opaque white thread is attached to the upper side of the rim and extends down the neck in an uncertain pattern. Additionally, an unmarvered coil, made of twisted opaque white and medium blue threads, is attached at the rim’s edge.

Label TextThese six fragments of core-formed glass vessels (TMA 1925.1060-1066) were excavated at Tell el-Amarna, also known as Akhetaten, the short-lived capital established by Pharaoh Akhenaten (1353–1334 BCE) as the center of his religious and administrative reforms. Among the many specialized crafts practiced at the site, glass production was particularly significant. Excavations uncovered glass workshops equipped with furnaces, manufacturing debris, and raw material processing areas. This evidence confirms that New Kingdom Egyptian artisans were not merely reshaping imported ingots but were capable of producing glass from raw materials, highlighting Amarna’s role as a major center of innovation in ancient glassmaking.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, catalog no. 13, p. 63, repr. (col.) p. 43.