Early Byzantine Glass Beaker w/ Dots, ex-Christie's

Ancient Near East, early Byzantine Empire, ca. 4th to 5th century CE. A fine beaker of an elegant tapered form, free-blown from semi-translucent glass of a vibrant yellow-green hue. The conical vessel has a thick base with a smooth pontil scar, gradually widening walls, and a petite flared rim. A pair of faint wheel-cut striations adorn the upper body below the rim, and further adorning the exterior are alternating singular or trios of applied cobalt-blue glass. A fabulous example from the early days of Byzantium! Size: 3.125" W x 5" H (7.9 cm x 12.7 cm); 5.6" H (14.2 cm) on included custom stand.

For a stylistically-similar example, please see "Glasses of Antiquity." Fortuna Fine Arts, Ltd., New York, 2002, fig. 105.

Provenance: private East Coast, USA collection; ex-Christie's, New York Antiquities Auction (sale 2565, June 8, 2012, lot 163); ex-Martin J. Wunsch Foundation collection, New York, USA; ex-W. Bastiaan Blok collection, The Netherlands, acquired in the late 1990s

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#147787
Condition Report: Small chips to rim, minor abrasions to base and body, with light weathering film, and softening to wheel-cut striations. Smooth pontil mark on underside of base. A pontil scar or mark indicates that a vessel was free-blown, while the absence of such a mark suggests that the work was either mold-blown or that the mark was intentionally smoothed away or wore away over time. Light earthen deposits and faint silver iridescence throughout.