Intact Hellenistic Core-Formed Glass Amphoriskos

Ca. 200–50 BCE. Eastern Mediterranean, Hellenistic Period, ca. 2nd to 1st century BCE. Core-formed amphoriskos with a cobalt body wound with opaque yellow trails, spaced horizontally across the neck, then drawn together at the shoulder and combed into a festoon band of yellow, white, and pale blue swagging around the widest point before resolving into horizontal banding toward the pointed base. Two translucent blue strap handles arc from shoulder to neck, and a disc of yellow glass is folded at the lip; the vessel terminates in a small applied cobalt knob base, the most fragile element of the form and the first lost on most surviving examples. Core-formed vessels of this class held perfumed oils and unguents and traveled widely across the Mediterranean; the technique, winding molten glass around a removable core of dung and clay, predates glassblowing by centuries and was abandoned soon after glassblowing arrived. Size: 2.17" Diam x 5.23" H (5.5 cm Diam x 13.3 cm H).

Provenance: private North East Coast, USA collection, acquired prior to 2000

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Item #

204250

Condition
Intact and complete with both handles and foot ring undamaged — no breaks, no restoration. Uniform matte weathering across all surfaces with minor pitting. Excellent, and exceptional for the form.

Buyer's Premium
30%