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Unknown Maker, Roman

Bottle

Maker

Unknown Maker, Roman

Culture

Roman

Title

Bottle

Year

2nd century CE-3rd century CE

Medium

  • glass,
  • free-blown

Materials/Techniques

Techniques

  • glass,
  • free-blown

Materials

glass

Geography

Region: Eastern Mediterranean

Dimensions

Height: 24.5 cm (9 5/8 inches)

Credit / Object Number

Credit

Gift of Mr. Albert E. Southwick

Object Number

60.028

Type

  • Glass

Exhibition History

Ancient Greek and Roman Galleries
Sep 22, 2010

Label copy

The flakiness and iridescence of this bottle are evidence of deterioration due to weathering. The weathered layers of the glass are part of the object; they are not dirt or minerals that have fused to the glass. Seasonal wetting of the soil leached alkali from the exterior of the object, leaving a layer of almost pure silica behind. As the glass weathers from the outside in, subsequent wet seasons will leave a buildup of silica layers. There can be dozens of these layers, even hundreds. The brittle silica layers create a flaky effect which refracts light, giving an iridescent appearance.

Glass from the Museum's Collection
Jan 17, 1973 – Mar 10, 1974

Image use

The images on this website can enable discovery and collaboration and support new scholarship, and we encourage their use.

Public Domain This object is in the Public Domain and available under a CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication

Tombstone

Unknown Maker, Roman
Bottle, 2nd century CE-3rd century CE
Glass, free-blown
Height: 24.5 cm (9 5/8 inches)
Gift of Mr. Albert E. Southwick 60.028

To request new photography, please send an email to imagerequest@risd.edu and include your name and the object's accession number.

Feedback

We view our online collection as a living documents, and our records are frequently revised and enhanced. If you have additional information or have spotted an error, please send feedback to curatorial@risd.edu.

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