Ancient Roman Amber Glass Aryballos with Applied Handles

£ 1,650.00

A very fine ancient Roman aryballos blown from translucent amber coloured glass with two applied handles. The large globular body sits on a flat base, and tapers in at the shoulders to a thin, cylindrical neck with an everted rim. Spiralling ridges decorate the body showing how the molten glass was twisted during the production process, giving a pleasant allure. The handles, drawn and tooled, curve gently from the mid-neck to the upper body, and are adorned with a central groove that runs vertically down the handle. Additional trails, in the form of horizontal loops, has been applied to embellish the flaring rim and the base of the neck, just below the handle.

Date: Circa 1st-3rd Century AD
Provenance: Ex S.M. collection, London, acquired pre 1990s. Then, private collection belonging to the J.L collection, acquired in 2010s.
Condition: Excellent condition. Beautiful iridescence visible to the surface along with earthly encrustation.

SOLD

Glass was often the preferred material for storing expensive oils, perfumes, and medicines because it was not porous. The small mouth allowed the user to carefully pour and control the amount of liquid dispensed. By the 1st century AD, the technique of glass-blowing had revolutionised the art of glass-making, allowing for the production of small medicine, incense, and perfume containers in new forms. These glass bottles are found frequently at Hellenistic and Roman sites, especially in cemeteries, and the liquids which filled them would have been gathered from all corners of the expansive Roman Empire. Different minerals were added to create a variety of colours; the yellow tint seen in this piece would have been created by adding antimony and lead.

Trail decoration is an embellishment technique which was a popular feature of Roman glass artefacts, and was composed of a strand of glass applied to a vessel or object. Narrow trails of coloured glass were applied in zig-zag or festoon patterns to vessels; trails of varying thickness were frequently added as rims, handles, or base rings. Trails were also used as surface decoration, usually in a spiralling pattern around the vessel which was either raised or made from a different colour of glass.

The iridescence on ancient Roman glass was unintentional, and was caused by weathering on its surface. The extent to which a glass object weathers depends mainly on the burial conditions; however, the humidity, heat, and type of soil in which the glass was buried also all affect its preservation.

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

Weight 69.2 g
Dimensions W 7.3 x H 10.2 cm
Culture

Region

Glass

Reference: For a similar item,The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, item 74.51.139

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