280 - Perfumery jar with handle. Rome, 1st century AD.

Perfumery jar with handle. Rome, 1st century AD. Fine transparent glass. In good condition, with a crack in the neck and a reintegrated break in the body. With old collection label. Certificate issued in 1971 enclosed. Measurements: 12 cm (height). Perfumery jar with a spherical body, an almost flat base, a short neck with an exvasated lip and a nice applied handle that joins the top of the body with the edge of the mouth. The typology of this piece concentrates the precise characteristics for use as a Roman female toilet perfumery, i.e. a flat base, spherical body, short neck and a curved lip. The outer surface has a pleasant iridescence due to the long time the glass has spent under the earth and in direct contact with the minerals in the earth itself. Glass began to be widely used from the 1st century AD, after the discovery of the blowing technique around 40 BC in the eastern part of the Mediterranean coast. This technique was a major revolution and spread rapidly. Blown glass offered great advantages over other materials because it did not change the taste of the food it contained and was more impermeable than terracotta. In addition, the blowing technique made it possible to produce pieces in a wide variety of shapes and sizes, and also to produce them more quickly. On the other hand, glass pieces were easier to clean, so it soon became the favourite material for domestic use.