**First Time At Auction**

Roman, Imperial period, ca. 1st to 3rd century CE. A splendid unguentarium free-blown from translucent light green glass that has turned opaque from weathering film and lustrous silver and rainbow iridescence formed throughout the centuries. Boasting an elegant silhouette, the vessel presents a hemispherical body with a rounded shoulder that leads to a lengthy, tapering neck and a flared and folded rim, all sitting upon a concave base. Candlestick unguentaria appear as early as Augustan times and gained popularity throughout the second half of the first century, with large quantities of them being found at Pompeii and Herculaneum. They were typically used for holding scented oils and perfumes; the most popular scents of which were saffron, marjoram, and roses. Once a daily object in a Roman home, this example is now a jaw-dropping testament to all the opulence and glamor of Ancient Rome! Size: 2.9" Diameter x 7.2" H (7.4 cm x 18.3 cm)

Most scholars agree that Roman glass was of the highest quality - both aesthetically and technically - among the ancients. While glass making had been practiced for centuries, glass blowing was invented in the Roman-controlled Holy Land in the 1st century BCE. This innovative technology revolutionized the artform. We can appreciate such a wide variety of forms and shapes, because the medium of glass has unique physical properties that make for so many more possibilities than metal or clay. Roman glassmakers reached incredible artistic heights with both free-blown vessels and mold blown forms and decorations.

Exhibited in "Ancient Glass: Selections from the Richard Brockway Collection" at the Hallie Ford Museum of Art at Willamette University, Salem from March 10 to May 19, 2007 and "Glass of the Ancient World" at the Vero Beach Museum of Art, Florida from October 11 to December 28, 2008.

Provenance: private Vero Beach, Florida, USA collection, acquired in Paris, France in the 1970's

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#177384

Some flaking to surface as shown, but otherwise intact and excellent with rich weathering film and lovely iridescence.