Glass alabastron (perfume bottle)
Translucent cobalt blue, with handles in same color; trails in opaque yellow and opaque white.
Broad slightly uneven rim-disk, made as a spiral coil around top of neck; cylindrical neck, tapering downwards; angular shoulder; straight-sided cylindrical body, with slight upward taper; convex bottom; on upper body, two vertical ring handles, applied over trail pattern, one slightly higher than the other.
A yellow trail attached at edge of rim-disk; on body, alternating bands of yellow and white, tooled from top of body to undercurve at bottom into a widely spaced festoon pattern in nine vertical panels with fourteen upward strokes, forming round loops at top.
Broken and repaired, with about one third of rim-disk missing, and small holes and chips in body; many white inclusions; some trails completely weathered, leaving hollow lines in body; slight dulling, faint iridescent weathering, and some deep pitting.
Among the more striking examples of glass perfume vessels of the fourth century B.C. are tall, large-bodied alabastra in dark grounds with applied threads combed into zigzag, feather, or festoon patterns over the body.
Broad slightly uneven rim-disk, made as a spiral coil around top of neck; cylindrical neck, tapering downwards; angular shoulder; straight-sided cylindrical body, with slight upward taper; convex bottom; on upper body, two vertical ring handles, applied over trail pattern, one slightly higher than the other.
A yellow trail attached at edge of rim-disk; on body, alternating bands of yellow and white, tooled from top of body to undercurve at bottom into a widely spaced festoon pattern in nine vertical panels with fourteen upward strokes, forming round loops at top.
Broken and repaired, with about one third of rim-disk missing, and small holes and chips in body; many white inclusions; some trails completely weathered, leaving hollow lines in body; slight dulling, faint iridescent weathering, and some deep pitting.
Among the more striking examples of glass perfume vessels of the fourth century B.C. are tall, large-bodied alabastra in dark grounds with applied threads combed into zigzag, feather, or festoon patterns over the body.
Artwork Details
- Title: Glass alabastron (perfume bottle)
- Period: Hellenistic
- Date: late 4th–early 3rd century BCE
- Culture: Eastern Mediterranean or Italian
- Medium: Glass; core-formed, Group II
- Dimensions: H. 7 3/8 in. (18.7 cm)
- Classification: Glass
- Credit Line: Gift of Henry G. Marquand, 1881
- Object Number: 81.10.295
- Curatorial Department: Greek and Roman Art
More Artwork
A slider containing 5 items.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
Etruscan
early 5th century BCE
Eastern Mediterranean or Italian
4th–3rd century BCE
Eastern Mediterranean or Italian
late 4th–early 3rd century BCE
Eastern Mediterranean or Italian
late 4th–early 3rd century BCE
Eastern Mediterranean or Italian
late 4th–early 3rd century BCE
Research Resources
The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.
To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.
Feedback
We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.