**Originally Listed At $2000**

Roman, The Levant, Lebanon / Syria, Sidonian, Imperial Period, ca. 1st to early 2nd century CE. A lovely mold-blown flask resembling a date fruit, with scattered areas of silvery iridescence across the amber surface. The petite ovoid form has a rounded base, textured walls that mimic the wrinkles of date skin, a corseted neck, and a narrow rim surrounding the mouth. Date shaped vials gained popularity around 50 CE, and may have been sold as novelty wares for visitors to the Eastern / North African provinces of the Roman empire, they were filled with cosmetic oils or sweet perfumes - sweet, like the date fruit the vessel resembled. Using a blowpipe, artisans would blow a dollop of glass into a mold, the neck and lip were made separately and attached to the body. Size: 1.2" Diameter x 2.3" H (3 cm x 5.8 cm); 4.5" H (11.4 cm) on included custom stand.

Exhibited in "Ancient Glass: Selections from the Richard Brockway Collection" at the Hallie Ford Museum of Art at Willamette University, Salem from March 10 to May 19, 2007 and "Glass of the Ancient World" at the Vero Beach Museum of Art, Florida from October 11 to December 28, 2008.

Provenance: private Vero Beach, Florida, USA collection, acquired before 2003

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#177402

Intact and choice. Light mineral deposits and silvery iridescence on surface.