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Catalogue

9. Balsamarium or Kohl Tube

Accession Number 2003.163
Dimensions H. 6.9, max. Diam. 1.6, Th. 0.2 cm; Wt. 15.30 g
Date Fifth century BCE
Production Area Western Asiatic, probably northwestern Iran
Material Dark green glass, appearing black
Modeling Technique and Decoration Rod-formed; applied unmarvered thread
View in Collection

Condition

Top of body and rim restored.

Description

Cylindrical body, tapering toward the rim; flat, lopsided bottom.

An unmarvered thread of the same color as the body is spirally wound around the body from shoulder to bottom and dragged upward and downward nine times to form a feather pattern. The ends of the thread are visible, and overall the decoration may have been made by scoring, i.e., pressing the still-hot surface with a sharp tool, creating the impression of an applied thread.

Comments and Comparanda

See cat. 7.

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

, pp. 50–51, no. 111.

, p. 24 n. 4; p. 35, IIB.3, fig. 34.

Exhibitions

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

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