Lot 57
Roman, Imperial Period, ca. 2nd to 3rd century CE. A gorgeous, near-opaque glass unguent vessel with a flat base and a smooth pontil. The globular body features eleven rows of stylized grapes, imbuing the exterior with an attractive bumpy texture and appearance. The plateaued shoulder leads upwards to a tubular neck and a collared rim. The bottle is formed from a lovely amber-hued glass, which was quite popular during the height of the Roman Empire. The depiction of grapes may be symbolic of Bacchus, the Roman god of wine. Covered by gorgeous silvery and rainbow-hued iridescence, this is a fabulous example of stylized glassware! Size: 2.625" W x 5" H (6.7 cm x 12.7 cm).
Ancient glass manufacture had begun in the 2nd millennium BCE in Mesopotamia and Egypt. The Greeks and Phoenicians advanced glass technology greatly in the latter 1st millennium BCE. In the early 1st century CE, Roman workshops began producing blown glass on a large scale. Eventually glass vessels came to replace a wide variety of pottery and metal wares in the ancient world. Ancient Roman glass was traded far beyond the Roman Empire. Roman glass vessels have been found in Scandinavia, India, and in Han Dynasty tombs in China.
For a similar example, please see the Metropolitan Museum of Art, accession number 17.194.252: https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/249495
Provenance: private East Coast, USA collection
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#133095
- Condition: Body and foot of vessel repaired from several large pieces with light adhesive residue and earthen stabilizing material along break lines. Surface wear commensurate with age as expected, small chips to foot and body, and light discoloration. Nice earthen deposits as well as silver and rainbow iridescence throughout.
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