English
Silk Road Collection
Glass

Aryballos

  • Eastern Mediterranean
  • 6th-4th century BC
  • glass
  • H7.2×φ6.2cm

Yellow and aqua-colored bands of glass were wrapped around the dark blue base color, and then scratched to create a zigzag pattern. This decoration is typical of core-formed glass, and it is thought to have been used as a container for expensive perfumed oil. Aryballos is a Greek spherical flask used to store perfumed oil. The neck has handles for a strap.