Roman Grey Glass Bottle

$473.61

An Ancient Roman bottle, blown in grey-light blue glass. The glass sits on a flat base and features a domed body, leading to a cylindrical neck, slightly angled to one side, wide mouth and rolled everted rim. The item features luminous iridescence in different hues of silver and light blue. Some earthly accretions.

Date: Circa 1st-2nd Century AD
Condition: Very fine, with some earthly encrustations and deposit to the surface.

SOLD

SKU: CS-314 Category: Tag:

Glass was often the preferred material for storing expensive oils, perfumes, and medicines because it was not porous. The small body and mouth allowed the user carefully to 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. The new technique allowed craftsmen to use smaller amounts of glass for each vessel and obtain much thinner walls, so enabling the creation of small medicine, incense, and perfume containers in new forms. These small 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. 

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

Weight 81 g
Dimensions H 12 cm
Culture

Glass

Region