Lower price! Roman, Sidonian, Lebanon, ca. 1st century CE. A fine mold-blown miniature Janus-headed flask representing Bacchus with bunches of round grapes for hair in gorgeous amber hued glass with marvelous iridescence. Note how the mold was carefully crafted to delineate intricate detailing of the visages and the fruit. Refined form with exquisite detailing. Size: measures just under 3"H (7.75 cm).

Sidon was a center of art glass production in ancient times. Here are Pliny's words as he described his voyage to Sidon, “From this point on we must go back to the coast and to Phoenicia. There was formerly a town called Crocodilian, and there still is a river of that name…Then comes Cape Carmel…Next are Getta, Geba, and the river Pacida or Belus…Close to this river is Ptolemais…Next Tyre, once an island separated from the mainland by a very deep sea-channel 700 yards wide, but now joined to it by the works constructed by Alexander when besieging the place…but the entire renown of Tyre now consists in a shell-fish and a purple dye!…Next are Zarephath and the city of birds (Ornithon oppidum), and Sidon, the mother-city of Thebes in Boeotia where glass is made. (Pliny, Natural History V.75-76, 77-79 AD”).

Provenance: Ex-private Palm Beach, Florida collection, acquired between 1980 and 1990.

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#102590

Tiny area of restoration - almost invisible to the eye.