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Catalogue

12. Alabastron

Accession Number 2003.181
Dimensions H. 10.6, Diam. rim 3.0, max. Diam. 2.5 cm; Wt. 43.38 g
Date Late sixth–fifth centuries BCE
Production Area Eastern Mediterranean, possibly Rhodes
Material Opaque green and yellow glass
Modeling Technique and Decoration Core-formed; applied rim-disk, handles, and unmarvered thread
View in Collection

Condition

Fully preserved. Small cracks and broken bubbles on the surface. A small area of the lip appears to have been restored. Remains of reddish core in the interior.

Description

Opaque green body and handles; opaque yellow decoration. Broad, horizontal rim-disk; cylindrical neck; rounded shoulder; cylindrical body, tapering toward the neck; shallow, convex bottom. On the shoulders are two opposing ring handles with knobbed tail affixed near the shoulders. One of the handles is lopsided, placed obliquely on the body.

An unmarvered yellow thread is wound around the rim.

Comments and Comparanda

On core-formed alabastra, see comments on cat. 10. For the classification of this particular alabastron, see , class I:F subgroup with dark-colored ground and two horizontal threads, dated to the late sixth century BCE, alabastron form I:3B, dated to the fifth century BCE: p. 137, no. 77. , p. 44, no. 17; p. 24 color plate, from Eretria, Greece.

Provenance

By 1974–1988, Erwin Oppenländer, 1901–1988 (Waiblingen, Germany), by inheritance to his son, Gert Oppenländer, 1988; 1988–2003, Gert Oppenländer (Waiblingen, Germany), sold to the J. Paul Getty Museum, 2003

Bibliography

, p. 67, no. 162.

Exhibitions

Molten Color: Glassmaking in Antiquity (Malibu, 2005–2006; 2007; 2009–2010)

Gläser der Antike: Sammlung Erwin Oppenländer (Hamburg and Cologne, 1974–1975)