Amphoriskos (Container for Oil)
5th-7th century
Medium
Glass, core-formed technique
Dimensions
5.1 × 4.4 × 4.4 cm (2 × 1 3/4 × 1 3/4 in.)
Classification
glass
Department
Arts of Greece, Rome, and Byzantium
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
67448
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
Initially affordable only among the wealthy, glass was used in ancient Rome as containers for oils, perfume, and tablewares. The word “amphoriskos”, Greek for “small amphora”, refers to this object’s shape, a miniature version of the two-handled metal or ceramic vessels that contained oil or wine. Core-formed glass was made by dipping a removable core that gives the vessel its shape into a molten glass mixture. The technical achievements and prestige of glass continued through the Byzantine peri...
About the Artist
Byzantine
"Byzantine" is the collective attribution given to anonymous artists working within the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire, whose creations spanned from the 4th to the 15th centuries, primarily in Constantinople and its cultural sphere. These masters produced a vast body of art that defined an era, with museums like the Walters Art Museum and the Art Institute of Chicago cataloging numerous works un...