Greek Hellenistic Core Formed Glass Amphoriskos

Ancient Greece, Hellenistic Period, ca. 2nd to 1st century BCE. A stunning example of a core-formed glass amphoriskos once used to hold perfumed oil. The vessel boasts an elegant piriform body with a drop-shaped base, a sloped shoulder that tapers to form the cylindrical neck, a thick circular rim with an upturned lip to mitigate spillage, and a pair of high-arching trail handles made from sapphire-blue glass. The opaque light-blue body is decorated with strands of opaque white and yellow glass that have been feathered into an attractive pattern, and additional strands of un-feathered yellow glass create a ringed presentation around the neck. Fantastic layers of silvery and rainbow-hued iridescence have formed across all surfaces and gracefully accentuate this wonderful example of early Greek glass-making artistry! Size: 2.2" W x 6.1" H (5.6 cm x 15.5 cm); 6.6" H (16.8 cm) on included custom stand.

A vessel like this would have been made for the elites of ancient society. Its owner would have used a stopper to keep the contents inside, and a glass rod to dip into the vessel's perfumed oils and dab on the throat or wrists. The little handles made it possible to suspend the vessel, and we know from Athenian vase paintings that vessels like these could be worn off a belt at the waist or suspended from the wrist.

The Greeks created core-formed or sandcore vessels by trailing threads of molten glass over a "core" of sand or clay to form the vessel. These threads were oftentimes feathered or dragged to create intriguing decorative patterns. The term amphoriskos literally means "little amphora" and is indeed a miniature amphora. This shape was quite popular as it was ideal to store precious oils, perfumes, or cosmetics.

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.

For a stylistically-similar example, please see The Metropolitan Museum of Art, accession number 17.194.597: https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/249831

Another stylistically-similar example, of a smaller size and with fewer colors, hammered for $11,875 at Christie's, New York Antiquities auction (sale 2007, June 4, 2008, lot 113): https://www.christies.com/lotfinder/ancient-art-antiquities/an-eastern-mediterranean-core-formed-glass-amphoriskos-circa-5078848-details.aspx?from=searchresults&intObjectID=5078848&sid=c6882591-ec34-4a8d-9d81-7ea910e285cc

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

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Display stands not described as included/custom in the item description are for photography purposes only and will not be included with the item upon shipping.

#147783
Condition Report: Handles and neck repaired from multiple pieces, with small chips and resurfacing along break lines, and light restoration to small areas of neck. Minor abrasions and encrustations to body, neck, rim, and base, with minor chips to rim and base. Light earthen deposits as well as stunning silver and rainbow iridescence throughout. Old inventory label on verso of neck.