Alabastron (Container for Scented Oil)
Early 2nd-1st century BCE
Medium
Glass, mosaic glass technique
Dimensions
12 × 2.2 × 2.2 cm (3 1/2 × 7/8 × 7/8 in.)
Classification
container
Department
Arts of Greece, Rome, and Byzantium
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
43397
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
Containers like this one were used to store precious oils. The flaring rim functioned as an applicator to spread the thick, scented oil over the skin; while the vessel itself was designed to fit comfortably in the user's hand. In this particularly lavish example, gold leaf was sandwiched between layers of colorless glass and worked into wavy bands with other colored canes. Initially affordable among only the wealthy, glass was used widely in the Roman world to create a variety of everyday objec...