Description:

Roman, Imperial period, ca. 1st to 2nd century CE. A beautiful free blown glass "baby feeder" made from aqua green glass with a deep tubular bowl and a slender straw / funnel to the side. Small vessels like this example were traditionally employed as feeding cups for infants. Baby feeders were a common object in Rome when wet nursing was not an option or needed to be supplemented. Animal milk would be put into the bowl and the baby would be encouraged to suck it through the straw. Unfortunately, lacking knowledge of sterilization, many Roman infants died from infection when the narrow straws of the feeders were not properly cleaned out, allowing bacteria to grow in the milk. Some infants in Roman cemeteries were buried with objects like this one. Size: 3" L x 1.5" Diameter x 2.75" H (7.6 cm x 3.8 cm x 7 cm); 3.5" H (8.9 cm) on included custom stand.

Provenance: private New York, New York, USA collection; ex-Leonard Wasserman collection, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

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#182234

  • Condition: Loss to end of narrow straw, but rest is very good condition. Earthen deposits and mineral encrustations. Light areas of iridescence.

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November 16, 2023 8:00 AM MST
Louisville, CO, US

Artemis Fine Arts

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