Unguent Bottle (Amphoriskos)
Unguent Bottle (Amphoriskos)
Place of OriginEastern Mediterranean, possibly from Rhodes
DateLate sixth through fifth centuries BCE
DimensionsH: 4 5/8 in. (11.8 cm); Diam; 1 1/4 in. (3.1 cm); Max Diam of Body; 2 1/4 in. (5.7 cm)
Mediumglass
ClassificationGlass
Credit LineGift of Edward Drummond Libbey
Object number
1923.151
Not on View
DescriptionThis amphoriskos has an opaque white ground with purple decoration. The vessel features a broad, inward-sloping rim-disk, a rather tall cylindrical neck that tapers upward, and a conical body with an obtuse-angled shoulder. It rests on a circular opaque white base-knob with a rounded edge. Two vertical opaque white strap handles extend from the shoulder to the top of the neck.
An unmarvered purple thread is attached at the edge of the rim-disk. A second purple thread, marvered, begins on the shoulder and is wound spirally: first in close-set horizontal lines, then tooled into an irregular zigzag pattern from the vessel's widest point down to the base-knob. The object is core-formed, with applied rim-disk, handles, and base-knob, and applied marvered and unmarvered threads. Tooling marks are visible on the underside of the rim-disk. Pronounced vertical indentations on the body were caused by the tooling of the zigzags.
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. 94, p. 143.
Late sixth through fifth centuries BCE
5th through early 4th centuries BCE
Late sixth through fifth centuries BCE
4th-3rd century BCE
5th century BCE
Probably first half of fifth century BCE
Late sixth through fifth centuries BCE
Late sixth to fifth centuries BCE
Late sixth through fifth centuries BCE
3rd century BCE
Mid-4th through early 3rd centuries BCE
2nd through mid-1st century BCE
Membership
Become a TMA member today
Support TMA
Help support the TMA mission