Tall Greek Hellenistic Core-Form Glass Alabastron

**Originally Listed At $2000**

Greece, late Hellenistic Period, ca. 2nd to 1st century BCE. A beautiful core-formed glass alabastron, so-named because many vessels that assumed this form were made of alabaster. The elegant vessel is comprised of opaque dark-blue glass accentuated with opaque yellow trails which are marvered and combed into a feathered design, and elegant spirals of additional yellow glass trails trace around the conical base and cylindrical neck just below the rim. The petite lug handles applied to each side of the neck are formed from solid dark-blue glass. Size: 1.3" W x 7.4" H (3.3 cm x 18.8 cm); 7.8" H (19.8 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.

For a stylistically-similar example with a different color scheme, please see "Solid Liquid: Greek, Roman, Byzantine and Islamic Glass." Fortuna Fine Arts, Ltd., New York, 1999, p. 25, fig. 23.

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

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#137698
Condition Report: Repaired from multiple large pieces, with areas of restoration, and resurfacing along break lines. Minor nicks and abrasions to rim, body, and base, with light encrustations, and minor pitting. Light earthen deposits as well as beautiful rainbow-hued iridescence throughout.