Roman or Gandharan Decorated Silver Aryballos

Piriform in profile with a narrow neck and flared mouth with a chamfered rim, dimple base. 945 grams, 29.5 cm high



From the Xavier Guerrand-Hermès private collection. with Artcurial, Paris, 25 March 2014, no.39. Private collection, London, UK. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.12959-245241.

On ancient glass, iridescence is the soft play of colour that develops as the surface ages and becomes silica-rich. Minute layers form over time and break light into shifting blues, greens and golds. It is not a modern finish but something time has drawn out of the material itself, so the pattern and palette are unique to each piece. Collectors prize good, stable iridescence because it lifts the form: ribs read more crisply, profiles glow, and simple vessels take on depth and movement. Museums now tend to preserve these surfaces rather than polish them away, recognising both their beauty and what they tell us about an object’s long life (though it is not, by itself, a dating test). For display, iridescent glass performs brilliantly under gentle, directional light, where the colours “turn” as the vessel is moved. Well-preserved, even iridescence of this quality is not common and adds materially to the presence and desirability of the piece.

Tubular body with piriform bosses, double collar beneath six tongue-shaped petals, domed finial with knop above. 26.5 grams, 56 mm



Ex German art market, 2000s. Acquired from an EU collector living in London. From the collection of a Surrey, UK, gentleman.

Restrung group of tubular, oblate and other types with tabular pendant centrepiece; including some 'Indo-Pacific' beads. 11.7 grams, 43.5 cm



London, UK, collection, 2000s.