Alabastron (perfume bottle) | Harvard Art Museums

Identification and Creation

Object Number: 1920.44.118
Title: Alabastron (perfume bottle)
Classification: Vessels
Work Type: vessel
Date: 2nd century BCE-first century CE
Places: Creation Place: Ancient & Byzantine World
Period: Hellenistic period
Culture: Graeco-Roman
Persistent Link: https://hvrd.art/o/292567

Physical Descriptions

Medium: Glass
Technique: Core-formed glass
Dimensions: 10.4 x 2.8 cm (width at handles) (4 1/8 x 1 1/8 in.)

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History: Elizabeth Gaskell Norton, Boston, MA and Margaret Norton, Cambridge, MA (by 1920), gift; to the Fogg Museum, 1920.

Note: The Misses Norton were the daughters of Charles Elliot Norton (1827-1908).

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line: Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Gift of the Misses Norton
Accession Year: 1920
Object Number: 1920.44.118
Division: Asian and Mediterranean Art
Contact: am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
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Descriptions

Description: Alabstron (unguent bottle) with cobalt blue ground and opaque yellow and light blue trail in a feather decoration running spirally down the length of the body. Narrow rim disk with rounded edge; short cylindrical neck; rounded shoulder; cylindrical body tapering slightly inward at the bottom.

For similar vessels see:
M. Stern. Early Ancient Glass: The Toledo Museum. nos. 162-164.

Subjects and Contexts

Roman Domestic Art

Verification Level

This record has been reviewed by the curatorial staff but may be incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of Asian and Mediterranean Art at am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu

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1920.44.118: Alabastron (perfume bottle)