Gorgeous Greek Core-Formed Amphoriskos

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Exceptional Day 1: Antiquities Asian Fine Art...

By Artemis Gallery

May 22, 2019

Set Reminder 2019-05-22 10:00:00 2019-05-22 10:00:00 America/New_York Bidsquare Bidsquare : Exceptional Day 1: Antiquities Asian Fine Art https://www.bidsquare.com/auctions/artemis-gallery/exceptional-day-1-antiquities-asian-fine-art-4129
Day 1 of an important 2-day auction featuring exceptional art from around the world - Egyptian, Greek, Etruscan, Roman, Viking, Russian, Near Eastern; Asian Art from China, Japan, Thailand, Vietnam, Burma, India; Fine Art from the 17th century to present. Artemis Gallery info@artemisgallery.com

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• Lot Description
  Greece, Hellenistic, c. 3rd to 2nd century BCE. A stupendous - dare I say PERFECT - core-formed glass amphoriskos used by the ancients to hold perfumed oil. This vessel boasts an exceptionally elegant form with a piriform body, twin trail handles joining the shoulders to the long tubular neck which rises to an everted, disk rim, all upon a droplet shaped globule. The decoration of this piece is simply breathtaking. Note how the deep cobalt blue body is wound with golden tangerine orange-yellow thread-like trails applied in a close-knit zigzag or feathered pattern around the body. Threadlike horizontal golden trails also encircle the shoulder, neck, lower body, and rim (the disc form of which is actually aubergine in color). A divine work of glass art to be treasured for its impeccable form, beautiful hues, and sophisticated technique. Size: 5.9" H (15 cm); 6.125" H (15.6 cm) on included custom stand.
  
  Core-formed glass represents one of the earliest and most widely-used forms of glass manufacture in the ancient world. The production of glass objects seems to have originated in western Asia around 1500 BCE, followed by an explosion in the Egyptian industry in the fifteenth century BCE. At around the same time, glass begins to be mentioned in written sources from Mesopotamia, suggesting its growing popularity. However, it was the Greeks and Romans who perfected the technology of glass making and considered it an art form. In around the middle of the sixth century, a technological breakthrough led to the creation of the first glass vessels and allowed the industry to become established in its own right. This was the core-forming technique, which was to remain the dominant method for the creation of vessels in the ancient world until the advent of glass-blowing in the first century BCE.
  
  The technique involved shaping a core of clay and sand in the form of the vessel around a metallic rod. Then, molten glass was either trailed onto the core using a tool, or from dipping the core directly into a container of molten glass. To achieve a smooth surface, the vessel was continually reheated and rolled on a flat slab. Finally, the metallic rod was removed and, once the vessel had slowly cooled down, the core material was scraped out. The trailing of the vessel in molten glass led to aesthetically pleasing decorations in zigzag or feather patterns, in favoured colours of turquoise, white, cobalt blue, yellow and brown, like the present piece. This delicate and intricate technique limited the size of the vessel; as such, these objects were often miniature forms of well-known vase types, designed to hold perfumes, scented oils and cosmetics. The present example is unusual for its scale, and for its exquisite state of preservation, maintaining a vivid and shiny surface. The name of the vessel means 'little amphora', derived from the traditional vessel used to store wine or oil. Glass continued to remain a luxury material, although the production of small vessels for daily use extended its reach to a greater audience. The Hellenistic period, spanning the era from the conquests of Alexander the Great (356-323 BCE) to the inception of Roman imperial rule at the end of the first century BCE, was characterized by its love of luxury items created by master craftsmen for an increasingly affluent society. Glassmaking in its current form reached the pinnacle of its manufacture, with the exploration of different techniques and increasingly beautiful designs and forms.
  
  These core-formed miniature vessels of the period capture a rare glimpse of this extraordinary epoch and represent the last of their kind; the discovery of glassblowing in the Syro-Palestinian region in the first century BCE eclipsed the core-forming technique to become the preferred method of glass production for centuries to come.
  
  A core-formed amphoriskos of similar scale and design is in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (inv. 17.194.597, second to mid-first century BCE).
  
  Cf: H. Tait, ed., Five Thousand Years of Glass, (London, 1991); On glass production in the Hellenistic Age, J. Henderson, Ancient Glass: An Interdisciplinary Exploration (Cambridge, 2013) pp. 203-226.
  
  Provenance: private Connecticut, USA collection; ex private UK collection (EMW), 1960s
  
  All items legal to buy/sell under U.S. Statute covering cultural patrimony Code 2600, CHAPTER 14, and are guaranteed to be as described or your money back.
  
  A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany all winning bids.
  
  We ship worldwide and handle all shipping in-house for your convenience.
  
  #146726

  Condition

  Intact and superb! Choice indeed!
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