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Roman Fragmentary Bottle with Iridescence Roman Fragmentary Bottle with Iridescence Roman Fragmentary Bottle with Iridescence
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Details

LOT 0830

Roman Fragmentary Bottle with Iridescence

1ST CENTURY A.D.

2 3/8 in. (14.3 grams, 61 mm).

Bulbous body from an unguentarium; old collector's label to underside 'N10941'. [No Reserve]

Provenance

Ex B.D., acquired in the 1930s.

Accompanied by a copy of an Art Loss Register certificate no.S00075600.
This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D’Amato.

Literature

Cf. Fleming, S.J., Roman Glass, Reflexions of Everyday Life, Philadelphia, 1997, p.4, lett.a, for shape and date; p.17, pl.24, for similar type.

Footnotes

The specimen represents an unguentarium, usually a perfume bottle. However, many of the herbs used by Romans for cosmetics - henna, iris, and saffron, had medicinal value as well, so it is not surprising that bottles that so often assumed to have been containing perfumes were sometimes employed for the storage of astringents and soothing lotions.

CONDITION
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AUCTIONS:

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LOT 0830

Roman Fragmentary Bottle with Iridescence

Sold for (Inc. bp): £156

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