Ancient Egyptian - Multicolored glass amphorisque - core-formed glass - 5th/3rd century BCE.

RARE GLASS-CORE AMPHORISKOS REALIZED AT THE NUCLEUS
Egypt, Ptolemaic period, 5th/3rd century BCE.
Amphoriskos of Harden type with dark blue ground. Rim bordered with a yellow thread. Yellow thread applied spirally on the shoulder.
The middle part of the belly is adorned with turquoise, yellow-blue threads worked in a zigzag. Below, circles of yellow thread.
Handles in dark blue glass applied from shoulder to neck; foot in a blue glass knob. Dark blue opaque glass; decoration in yellow, blue and turquoise.
Eastern Mediterranean, 6th-5th century BCE
Height: 7.2 cm - diameter 4.5 cm - Excellent condition - restoration.
A very rare piece!

This amphoriskos, or “miniature amphora,” is a flask containing perfumed oils or perfume.
The custom of using delicately made glass vessels to contain valuables began at the end of the Bronze Age in Western Asia and Egypt, and was revived in Mesopotamia at the beginning of the Iron Age. Their small size and pleasantly rounded shape allow these vessels to be comfortably held in the hand.
The form also occurs in terracotta, and rarely in metal, but ultimately this form copies that of the large 6th-century BCE transport amphorae, which were used for distributing wine and olive oil throughout the Mediterranean.

The blowing technique to form the core of glassmaking consists of building a removable core material – probably a mixture of clay, mud, sand and an organic binder – around a metal rod.
The core is then covered with molten glass, either by dipping or by sliding a glass thread over the core as it spins.
The vessel is reheated and marbled several times, or rolled, on a flat stone slab. Decoration in the form of glass threads is then drawn and pressed onto the surface, usually after being combed or drawn with a metal pin or hook into a zigzag, a plume or another motif.
The metal rod is then withdrawn and the vessel is annealed. Once the core is scraped, the rim, handles and base knob are applied after further reheating.

Provenance: Germany, M.R.S. Gallery
Previously: Germany, former private collection Otto Schäfer, Schweinfurt

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