Published: May 14, 2018 • By Nora I. Moriarty and Debby Sneed

Catalogue Entry听Photograph of a broken multi-colored glass vase with an ovoid body that tapers to a narrow, flat base. Neck and most of handle broken. From the side against a neutral gray background.

From the Catalogue of听Ancient Glass in the University of Colorado Museum

Gift of the May Company (1969)
听(2008)
Height:听7.9 cm
Diameter (max.):听4.8听cm
Eastern Mediterranean, late 6th to early 4th century B.C.E.

Classification: Grose Group I.3

Description: Mouth, neck, and part of handle missing. Preserved section of handle attached to top of shoulder. Body ovoid with flat base knob. Royal blue body with opaque aqua and yellow-orange zigzag pattern.听One unmarvered yellow-orange stripe at the top of zigzag pattern, two more below, and one at base of vessel (very similar to the coloring of Schlick-Nolte 2002, no. V-11). Body repaired with wax or hot glue.听Core-formed (i.e., hot glass is applied to a removable core, either by dipping or trailing threads of glass over the core as it rotates).听Handles and base knob applied separately.

Comment: This type of amphoriskos, which was probably used as an ointment bottle, is ubiquitous in the eastern Mediterranean, such places as Egypt (Honey 1946, pl. 1E), Israel (Eliayu Dobkin Pavillion 1981,听p. 18), Lebanon (Baramki 1967,听pl. V), and Georgia (Vickers and Kakhidze 2001, fig. 21), as well as in Italy (Mariacher 1961, pl. 2), in the 6th听through 3rd centuries B.C.E.听This coloring, which is also rather commonplace, is probably in imitation of Murrhine ware (1).听Other comparable examples are Eisen 1927, pl. 4;听Richter 1974, fig. 515; Hayes 1975,听no. 12;听Constable-Maxwell Collection 1979,听lot 5;听and Grose 1989, nos. 107 and 108. A at the Art Institute of Chicago and a 听show how common the style was and suggest what CU's vessel may have looked like when it was complete.听

The original museum record of this vessel indicates that the neck was missing at the time of accessioning, but makes no mention of the body being broken, suggesting this damage occurred since 1969.

Discussion

This colorful vessel has the characteristic design and decoration of many听other听glass pieces from the same time period. In听Egypt,听Rhodes, and all over the Eastern Mediterranean, blue, yellow, white and turquoise glass bottles were being produced and traded (2).听The bright blue that makes up the majority of this vessel's surface may have been meant to imitate either blue marble (), which was a popular material for stone vessels (3),听or a 听(4).

The amphoriskos in the CU Art Museum collection was not听blown听into shape like most later glass vases, but instead was manufactured by a method called core-forming.听This means that the shape of the piece comes from a core that was dipped or wrapped in pliable, melted glass. The core was likely made out clay and dung (5), which听would be stuck at the end of a long rod and then dipped into the base glass, which appears blue in this vase. Then, melted glass strands would be wound around the core to create the yellow, white, and turquoise bands that were so popular. The vase would then be rubbed smooth until all the colors were integrated. To create the zig-zag effect, the glass would be to drag the colored bands up and down (6).听Once the glass was cooled and set, the organic core would be scraped out, leaving only the shaped vessel (7).

This amphoriskos has some unfortunate damage to the mouth and neck.听 and听were very common vases in the Mediterranean world from about 525 B.C.E. to 50 B.C.E. The manufacture and听trade听of perfumes was an essential industry to the Egyptians and the Rhodians. Other popular shapes included听aryballoi听and听alabastra, both also used for carrying scented oils and perfumes (8).

贵辞辞迟苍辞迟别蝉听

  1. Alain Tressaud and Michael Vickers, "Ancient Murrhine Ware and Its Glass Evocations," Journal of Glass Studies听49 (2007): 143-152.听
  2. Hugh Tait, ed.,听Five Thousand Years of Glass听(Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2004): 26-44.
  3. Tait 2004: 33.
  4. Martine S. Newby,听Glass of Four Millennia听(Oxford: Ashmolean Museum, 2000): 12.
  5. Robert J. Charleston,听Masterpieces of Glass: A World History from the Corning Museum of Glass听(New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc. 1980): 19.
  6. R. A. Grossmann,听Ancient Glass: A Guide to the Yale Collection听(New Haven: Yale University Art Gallery, 2002): 13.
  7. Newby 2000: 12.
  8. Tait 2004: 42-43.

References

  • Baramki, D.听The Archaeological Museum of the American University of Beirut.听Beirut: The American University,听1967.
  • Catalogue of the Constable-Maxwell Collection of Ancient Glass.听London: Maggs Brothers,听1979.
  • Eisen, G. A.听Glass: Its Origin, History, Chronology, Technic and Classification to the Sixteenth Century, v. 1.听New York: W. E. Rudge,听1927.
  • The Eliyahu Dobkin Pavilion of Glass from Eretz Israel and Neighboring Countries.听Jerusalem: Israel Museum, 1981.
  • Grose, D. F.听Early Ancient Glass: Core-Formed, Rod-Formed, and Cast Vessels and Objects from the Late Bronze Age to the Early Roman Empire, 1600 B.C. to A.D. 50.听New York: Hudson Hills Press, 1989.
  • Hayes, J. W.听Roman and Pre-Roman Glass in the Royal Ontario Museum.听罢辞谤辞苍迟辞:听1975.
  • Honey, W. B.听Glass: A Handbook for the Study of Glass Vessels of All Periods and Countries & a Guide to the Museum Collection.听London: Ministry of Education, 1946.
  • Mariacher, G.听Italian Blown Glass from Ancient Rome to Venice.听New York: McGraw-Hill,听1961.
  • Richter, G. M. A.听A Handbook of Greek Art.听Oxford: Phaidon, 1974.
  • Schlick-Nolte, B.听鈥淐atalogue of Ancient Glass,鈥� in听Reflections on Ancient Glass from the Borowski Collection, ed. R. S. Bianchi, B. Schlick-Nolte, G. M. Bernheimer, and Dan Barag.听Mainz: P. von Zabern, 2002: 47-109.
  • Vickers, M. and A. Kakhidze.听鈥淭he British-Georgian excavation at Pichvnari 1998: the 鈥楪reek鈥� and 鈥楥olchian鈥� Cemeteries,鈥澨�Anatolian Studies听51 (2001): 65-90.
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