Roman, Imperial Period, ca. 1st to 3rd century CE. An adorable hand-blown glass vessel with a bulbous, teardrop-form body, a long tapered feeding tip, a tubular neck with an outfolded rim, and a flat bottom with the tip of a broken pontil remaining. Liquid would have been poured into the body of the vessel and tipped forward to facilitate feeding an infant. Beautiful areas of silvery and rainbow-hued iridescence complement the pale blue-green coloration of the vessel in hues of sapphire, citrine, emerald, amethyst, and ruby. Size: 4.75" W x 3.375" H (12.1 cm x 8.6 cm)

The following piece of ancient poetry captures the artistry of the glassblower, "… fabricating for mankind … First he heated the very point of the iron, then snatched from nearby a lump of bright glass and placed it skillfully within the hollow furnace. And the crystal as it tasted the heat of the fire was softened by the strokes of Hephaestus like … he blew in from his mouth a quick breath … like a man essaying the most delightful art of the flute. The glass received the force of his breath and became swollen out around itself like a shpere before it …" (P.Oxy. 50.3536, a third century poem on glass blowing)

Provenance: private Davis Collection, Houston, Texas, USA

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#132753

Minute loss to end of feeding tip. Earthen deposits grace the surface. Incredible silvery, ice blue and rainbow iridescence make this vessel glow.