AQUAMARINE ROMAN PINCHED GLASS FLASK
Ca. 100–200 AD.
A free-blown sprinkler flask of transparent aquamarine glass featuring a cylindrical flaring neck and a funnel-shaped mouth. The globular body is decorated with small, pinched knobs. There are patches of beautiful iridescence throughout the flask. Small flasks are one of the most common forms of Roman glass. This sprinkler is distinguished by having an inner disk at the base of the neck with only a small opening for the liquid to pass through. This feature, as well as the broad, funnel-shaped mouth, probably indicates that the flask held precious liquids, such as perfumed oil, which had to be carefully conserved. For a Roman flask of similar shape and decoration in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, see https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/245229.
Size: L:108mm / W:87mm ; 135.5g
Provenance: David Ruskin Collection, Oxford 1970 004.
Estimate: GBP 750 - 1500