Ancient Greece, Late Hellenistic, ca. 2nd to 1st century BCE. A striking core-formed glass alabastron, so named because many vessels that assumed this form were made of alabaster. The sophisticated vessel presents an ovoid body that flares inward toward the cylindrical neck, resolves to a splayed rim, has a rounded bottom, and is furnished with trailed handles that loop at their upper termini and wing outward at their lower termini applied to the shoulders. The alabastron is comprised of deep cobalt blue glass with tangerine orange and white trailing - the central section of which is combed into a zig-zag, feathered pattern - nestled between horizontal bands of white above and below - and an elegant border of white tracing the perimeter of the rim. A stunning work of glass art to be treasured for its impeccable form, beautiful hues, and sophisticated technique. Size: 4.875" H (12.4 cm); 5.375" H (13.7 cm) on included custom stand.

A vessel like this would have been made for the elites of ancient society. Its owner would have used a stopper to keep the contents inside, and a glass rod to dip into the vessel's perfumed oils and dab on the throat or wrists. The little handles made it possible to suspend the vessel, and we know from Athenian vase paintings that vessels like these could be worn off a belt at the waist or suspended from the wrist.

According to the Corning Museum of Glass, core forming is "the technique of forming a vessel by winding or gathering molten glass around a core supported by a rod. After forming, the object is removed from the rod and annealed. After annealing, the core is removed by scraping." (https://www.cmog.org/glass-dictionary/core-forming). This process of glass making was begun in the late 16th century BCE by glassmakers of Mesopotamia, and then adopted by Egyptian glassmakers in the 15th century BCE. The technique almost came to an end in the so-called Dark Ages of Mediterranean civilization (1200 to 900 BCE); however, by the 9th century BCE a new generation of glassmakers took up the technique once again, and between the 6th and 4th century BCE core-forming spread throughout the Mediterranean.

The alabastron is a long-bodied vessel with a rounded bottom, a tapered or cylindrical neck, and a flared, flattened mouth. Though usually without handles, some alabastra have eyes or lugs, like this example. According to the Beazley Archive of the University of Oxford, the alabastron shape's history extends back to Corinth, but was only preserved in Athenian pottery examples back to the mid-sixth century BCE. Alabastra were created in many materials, including alabaster, and the Greek term for this stone - alabastron (most likely of Egyptian origin) - was the source of inspiration for the name of this shaped vessel. Many examples were finished with a white ground, as if to imitate this stone. We know from vase painting imagery of women using alabastra following a bath, that these vessels most likely held perfumed oils.

For further reading about Core-Formed glass vessels, read Associate Curator, Greek and Roman Art, The Metropolitan Museum of Art C.S. Lightfoot's "The Pendant Possibilities of Core-Formed Glass Bottles" - https://www.metmuseum.org/pubs/journals/1/pdf/1513055.pdf.bannered.pdf

Provenance: private East Coast, USA collection

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Slight surface wear. Repaired at the lower end, but well done and otherwise excellent.