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Unknown Maker, Egyptian

Small Perfume Bottle (Amphoriskos)

Maker

Unknown Maker, Egyptian

Culture

Egyptian, Near Eastern

Title

Small Perfume Bottle (Amphoriskos)

Year

500s BCE-300s BCE

Medium

Materials/Techniques

Techniques

Geography

Geographic Reference: Eastern Mediterranean

Dimensions

Height: 7.9 cm (3 1/8 inches)

Credit / Object Number

Credit

Gift of Mrs. Gustav Radeke

Object Number

06.026

Type

Exhibition History

Ancient Greek and Roman Galleries
Sep 22, 2010

Label copy

This tiny Greek cosmetic bottle (unguentarium) was likely made in Egypt or Palestine using the core-forming technique. First, a core was molded into the basic shape using sand, dung, and clay. Then, this core was dipped into molten glass and rolled on a flat surface to smooth and slowly cool the surface, a process called marvering. Next, threads or yellow and ligher blue glass were trailed onto this vessel, marvered on, and pulled to create the zigzag decoration. The bottle was allowed to cool, and finally, the core was scraped away.

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

Image use

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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, Egyptian
Small Perfume Bottle (Amphoriskos), 500s BCE-300s BCE
Glass, sandcore
Height: 7.9 cm (3 1/8 inches)
Gift of Mrs. Gustav Radeke 06.026

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