Roman, Imperial Period, ca. 1st to 3rd century CE. A dazzling glass unguentarium presenting a globular body that tapers to a slender, towering neck, and a flared rim, all sitting upon a planar base. Lovely strands of trailing adorn the body, forming a zigzagged band that travels up and down across the center flanked by a pair of horizontal strips. Shimmering rainbow iridescence adorns the surface, beautifully complementing the light green hue of the glass, as well as the elegant form of the vessel. Size: 1.125" in diameter x 4.875" H (2.9 cm x 12.4 cm)
The invention of glass blowing techniques occurred just as the Roman Empire was on the rise, making it possible for the glass industry to truly blossom among the ancient Romans. Note Pliny's poetic homage to translucent hand-blown glass: "There is, furthermore, opaque white glass and others that reproduce the appearance of fluor-spar, blue sapphires or lapis lazuli, and, indeed, glass exists in any color . . . However, the most highly valued glass is colorless and transparent, as closely as possible resembling rock-crystal." (Pliny, Natural History XXXVI.198 from "Solid Liquid" catalogue, Fortuna Fine Arts, New York, 1999, p. 64.)
Provenance: private New York, New York, USA collection; ex-private Kulok collection, Connecticut and New York, USA, before 2000
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.
#164056
Condition
Some flaking to iridescence and minor nicks to rim, commensurate with age. Weathering film on interior. Otherwise, excellent. Wonderful iridescence throughout.