Photograph by Ed Pollard, Hasselblad H4D50 - 2015.

Flask

Manufacturer Unknown

CultureRoman | Hellenic

Date100 B.C.-100 A.D.

MediumGlass | Mosaic

Dimensions3 1/2 × 2 1/2 × 2 3/4 in. (8.9 × 6.4 × 7 cm)
Overall, Rim: 7/8 in. (2.2 cm)

Credit LineGift of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr.

Object number71.6789

On View

Chrysler Museum of Art, Gallery 116-1, Case 3

DescriptionBottle/flask with a round body. "Ribbon" glass. 1.5" straight neck and a small straight rim. Vertical ribbons of blue in pale amber and parts of amber white to brown (a spherical balsamarium). Mosaic, color-band bottle. Repaired crack around rim. Also called "agate" glass. Probably from Alexandria about 1st century. Hellenistic-Roman late 1st century B.C.-early 1st century A.D.

Label TextRoman Empire, probably Italy Bottle of Color-Banded Glass, early 1st century A.D. Blown glass with incorporated canes Gift of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr. 71.6789 This glass bottle was made of fused glass canes of varying colors. Glasses like this were fashionable in early imperial Rome because they resembled luxurious hard stones such as agate and banded sardonyx. Published ReferencesToledo Museum, "Ancient Glass", _Museum News_, 11/1978, pg. 76, fig. 11.