Art Institute of Chicago
Alabastron (Container for Scented Oil)
Ancient MediterraneanLinkedCulture matchlcp-0441ef48d68a
- Date
- 6th-4th century BCE
- Medium
- Glass, core-formed technique
- Culture
- Mediterranean Region
- Department
- Arts of Greece, Rome, and Byzantium
- Institution
- Art Institute of Chicago
- Object ID
- 67444
Initially affordable only among the wealthy, glass was used in ancient Rome to create tableware and containers for oils and perfume. In the ancient Mediterranean world, scented oils, usually olive oil based, were used more frequently than alcohol-based perfumes. This vessel is called an alabastron because objects of this shape were originally made of alabaster. To create it, an oblong, heat-resistant form was dipped into molten glass and then removed, leaving behind the core-formed glass object. The patterned exterior was created by trailing different colored threads of glass over the body of the vessel and then combing the threads with a pointed tool.
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Provenance & credit
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- Credit line
- Gift of Theodore W. and Frances S. Robinson
- Provenance
- Azeez Khayat (1875-1943), New York City; sold to Theodore W. and Frances S. Robinson, Chicago, 1928 [correspondence in curatorial file]; given to the Art Institute of Chicago, 1949.
Linked open data
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- Object type
- AAT300193015
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