Ancient Roman Cotton Reel Type Glass Container

$410.71

A fine Ancient Roman blown glass unguentarium, displaying a beautiful deep emerald green shade, partially covered with iridescence and earthly deposits. The shape is similar to that of the ‘cotton reel’ type, common to Roman Egypt.

Date: Circa 1st-3rd Century AD
Provenance: From a private Japanese collection, 1972-2010.
Condition: Fine, complete and intact. Some earthy encrustation on the surface.

SOLD

SKU: CS-39 Category: Tag:

Glass was often the preferred material for storing expensive oils, perfumes, and medicines in antiquity because it was not porous. Glass vessels are found frequently at Hellenistic and Roman sites, especially in cemeteries, and the liquids that filled them would have been gathered from all corners of the expansive Roman Empire.

To find out more about Roman glass please see our relevant blog post: Collecting Roman Glass.

Weight 123.1 g
Dimensions W 6.3 x H 9.2 cm
Culture

Glass

Region

Reference: For a similar item, The Metropolitan Museum, item 81.10.124

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