Egyptian polychrome glass flask in the form of a Nile...

Egyptian polychrome glass flask in the form of a Nile Perch
18th Dynasty (1549-1292 BC); length cm 11,5; Fish-form vessels were common in many media at this time - the glass examples are but versions of others - but how they were used is not evident. They seem to have been ointment vessels and must have been furnished with stands as they are incapable of standing by themselves. This specimen is intact and fragile, not assembled from fragments; limestone untouched patina. Reference: similar in British Museum (EA55193). Provenance: The Gotha Precious Collection: property of a Swiss Collector; with Oswald Burchard, Zurich, until 1983; formerly part of the M. Hess Collection (Hotel Jura, Basel).