Greece, ca. 3rd century BCE. Absolutely stunning brown-on-white glass amphoriskos perfume vessel owned by a member of the elite class. Opaque white base glass to which a deep brown glass was intermixed with feathered pattern, with white handles and dark brown rim. Base narrows to rounded tip, rim flares to sloped opening. What truly sets this vessel apart from so many others we have handled is the incredible iridescent surface which absolutely sparkles! Size: 2.125" W x 4" H (5.4 cm x 10.2 cm); 4.75" H (12.1 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.

Provenance: Private European Collection, acquired in the late 1970s - early 1980s

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Minor erosion to rim, base appears to have been reattached with inner white "eggshell" glass exposed, thin chip to upper handle. Vessel has developed a stunning iridescence.