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Glass perfume jar (alabastron)

-650/-550

British Museum

British Museum
London, United Kingdom

The body of this glass alabastron was formed on a core. The lugs, in the shape of duck's heads, were then added and manipulated. The inside of the neck, however, was worked into its present shape when the glass was cold. The alabastron is similar to others that were also found in Italy. They are not all identical, but most seem to have been core-formed or made by a related technique. It is generally agreed that they were made in Assyria or Syria, probably by Phoenician glass-workers. Those with a recorded provenance (location of discovery) have been found in, among other places, Cyprus, Palestine and Carthage as well as Italy. These were all within the reach of Phoenician traders, who were themselves probably responsible for making glass inlays for ivory work and a series of luxurious monochrome vessels. Since they were above all copyists and adaptors it seems likely that they took up and practised core-forming and related techniques from their neighbours in Mesopotamia and Iran.

Details

  • Title: Glass perfume jar (alabastron)
  • Date Created: -650/-550
  • Physical Dimensions: Length: 21.59cm
  • External Link: British Museum collection online
  • Technique: cast; cut; core-formed
  • Subject: bird
  • Registration number: 1869,0624.16
  • Production place: Made in Asia
  • Place: Excavated/Findspot Pozzuoli
  • Period/culture: Phoenician
  • Material: glass
  • Copyright: Photo: © Trustees of the British Museum
  • Acquisition: Bequeathed by Slade, Felix. Previous owner/ex-collection Castellani, Alessandro

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