Greek Core-Formed Glass Alabastron

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Fine Antiquities / Asian / Ethnographic Art

By Artemis Gallery

Aug 30, 2018

Set Reminder 2018-08-30 10:00:00 2018-08-30 10:00:00 America/New_York Bidsquare Bidsquare : Fine Antiquities / Asian / Ethnographic Art https://www.bidsquare.com/auctions/artemis-gallery/fine-antiquities-asian-ethnographic-art-3402
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• Lot Description
  Ancient Greece, Classical Period, ca. 5th century BCE. A beautiful opaque glass alabastron with an elegant presentation and gorgeous coloration. The gently-tapering body has a rounded base, smooth walls, a pair of petite suspension loops, a narrow neck, and a dark-ringed discoid rim. The body is composed of colorful layers in cobalt, sky blue, and yellow hues, with tooling marks in a feathered pattern that cover almost the entire surface. The rim of the vessel resolves in a bright ring of yellow glass, and faint areas of rainbow iridescence are scattered across the exterior. A fabulous example from ancient Greece! Custom museum-quality display stand included. Size: 1.425" W x 4" H (3.6 cm x 10.2 cm); 4.5" H (11.4 cm) on included custom stand.
  
  The alabastron is a long-bodied vessel with a rounded bottom, a cylindrical neck, and a flat disk for a mouth. According to the Beazley Archive of the University of Oxford, the alabastron shape's history extends back to Corinth, but was only preserved in Athenian pottery examples back to the mid-sixth century BCE. Alabastra were created in many materials, including alabaster, and the Greek term for this stone - alabastron (most likely of Egyptian origin) - was the source of inspiration for the name of this shaped vessel. Many examples were finished with a white ground, as if to imitate this stone, though colorful vessels like this example were created later during the rise of the Classical period. We know from vase painting imagery of women using alabastra following a bath, that these vessels most likely held perfumed oils.
  
  According to the Corning Museum of Glass, core forming is "the technique of forming a vessel by winding or gathering molten glass around a core supported by a rod. After forming, the object is removed from the rod and annealed. After annealing, the core is removed by scraping." (https://www.cmog.org/glass-dictionary/core-forming). This process of glass making was begun in the late 16th century BCE by glassmakers of Mesopotamia, and then adopted by Egyptian glassmakers in the 15th century BCE. The technique almost came to an end in the so-called Dark Ages of Mediterranean civilization (1200 to 900 BCE); however, by the 9th century BCE a new generation of glassmakers took up the technique once again, and between the 6th and 4th century BCE core-forming spread throughout the Mediterranean.
  
  For a stylistically-similar example with no feathering to the colored layers, please see The Metropolitan Museum of Art, accession number 91.1.1380: https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/245766
  
  Provenance: private East Coast, USA collection
  
  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.
  
  #135266

  Condition

  Vessel repaired from multiple pieces with small chips, resurfacing, and light adhesive residue along break lines. Some areas of restoration around rim and base. Surface wear and abrasions commensurate with age, small chips and pitting holes to rim, handles, body, and base, with some fading to pigmentation, and light roughness across most surfaces. Light earthen deposits throughout. Scattered areas of faint rainbow iridescence.
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