Greek Hellenistic Core Formed Glass Alabastron

**Originally Listed At $3000**

Greece, late Hellenistic period, ca. 2nd to mid-1st century BCE. A striking core-formed glass alabastron, so named because many vessels that assumed this form were made from alabaster. This vessel is comprised of a deep cobalt-blue glass with white trailing combed into a feathered or swagged pattern to adorn the walls, and elegant spirals of white trace along the cylindrical neck, the flared rim, and the conical lower body. A pair of wide lug handles situated along the shoulder are shaped from dark-blue glass and enable the vessel to be easily lifted. A superb example of fine Hellenistic glass-blowing artistry to be revered for its elegant form, enticing hues, and sophisticated construction technique. Size: 1.625" W x 5.1" H (4.1 cm x 13 cm); 5.6" H (14.2 cm) on included custom stand.

The alabastron is a long-bodied vessel with a rounded bottom, a cylindrical neck, and a flat disk for a mouth. Though usually without handles, some alabastra have eyes or lugs, like this example. According to the Beazley Archive of the University of Oxford, the alabastron shape's history extends back to Corinth, but was only preserved in Athenian pottery examples back to the mid-sixth century BCE. Alabastra were created in many materials, including alabaster, and the Greek term for this stone - alabastron (most likely of Egyptian origin) - was the source of inspiration for the name of this shaped vessel. Many examples were finished with a white ground, as if to imitate this stone. We know from vase painting imagery of women using alabastra following a bath, that these vessels most likely held perfumed oils.

According to the Corning Museum of Glass, core forming is "the technique of forming a vessel by winding or gathering molten glass around a core supported by a rod. After forming, the object is removed from the rod and annealed. After annealing, the core is removed by scraping." (https://www.cmog.org/glass-dictionary/core-forming). This process of glass making was begun in the late 16th century BCE by glassmakers of Mesopotamia, and then adopted by Egyptian glassmakers in the 15th century BCE. The technique almost came to an end in the so-called Dark Ages of Mediterranean civilization (1200 to 900 BCE); however, by the 9th century BCE a new generation of glassmakers took up the technique once again, and between the 6th and 4th century BCE core-forming spread throughout the Mediterranean.

A strikingly-similar example, of a slightly smaller size, hammered for GBP 3,500 ($4,362) at Bonhams, London, New Bond Street Antiquities auction (July 7, 2016, lot 59): https://www.bonhams.com/auctions/23364/lot/59/

For another stylistically-similar example made from blue and yellow glass, please see The Metropolitan Museum of Art, accession number 91.1.1379: https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/245765

Provenance: private East Coast, USA collection; ex-Martin J. Wunsch collection, New York, USA, acquired in the 1980s

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#147784
Condition Report: Minor abrasions to body, handles and rim, with a couple of stable hairline fissures on body, a few small excisions, and light encrustations, otherwise intact and excellent. Light earthen deposits and faint iridescence throughout.