An extremely fine and well-preserved example of a large Ancient Roman blown glass unguentarium, featuring a flattened base, a piriform body, a long cylindrical neck and a folded rim. The glass has been blown in the typical bright green-blue colour of Roman glass vessel and displays some beautiful mother of pearl like iridescence and some marbling effects.
Date: Circa 1st -2nd Century AD Provenance: From a private Japanese collection, 1972-2010. Condition: Extremely fine, complete and intact.
Unguentaria were small perfume or cosmetics bottles made of blown glass. They were extremely popular throughout the Roman Empire, since they contained perfume and oil, considered precious at the time and often used both in private life and public ceremonies. This type of vessels was probably used in funerary and burial rituals, hence their frequent occurrence in archaeological excavations of ancient cemeteries. Large bottles, such as this fine example, are a rare find.