118 - SET OF 5 ROMAN GLASSES

SET OF 5 ROMAN GLASSES Glass, iridescent H. max. 9 cm; H. min 5 cm Eastern Mediterranean, 1st-7th century Provenance European private collection, acquired on the English art market in 1990-2000. Set of five flasks and unguentaria from the Roman and Byzantine periods, illustrating the typological and chromatic diversity of ancient glassware for perfumes, ointments and aromatic oils. The composition includes : an elegant spindle-shaped unguentarium in translucent beige glass with an iridescent patina, with an elongated tapering shape characteristic of the 1st-2nd centuries; a delicate little pyriform flask in aquatic blue-green glass with a long, narrow neck, testifying to Syro-Palestinian production; an exceptional centerpiece - a globular jug probably in the Sassanid or early Islamic tradition, with diamond-shaped incised decoration and a graceful handle; a globular flask in dark brown glass with an intense oxidized patina, probably of Egyptian or Levantine origin; and a bulbous balsamaire (aspersoir type) in opalescent cream glass with a short neck. These miniature containers, produced in the great glass-making centers of Syria-Palestine (Sidon, Tyre), Egypt (Alexandria) or Asia Minor between the 1st and 7th centuries, were used to preserve precious aromatic substances - nard, myrrh, Judean balsam, floral essences - whose rarity and cost justified these small-format flasks. Used both in the daily life of the elite and in funeral rituals where they accompanied the deceased, these objects bear witness to the importance attached to perfumes and body care in ancient Mediterranean civilizations. The diversity of shapes (fusiform, pyriform, globular), hues (from celestial blue to dark brown to translucent beige) and iridescent patinas gives this collection exceptional museographic value, providing a comprehensive overview of the evolution of perfume glassware over nearly six centuries. For the sprinkler flask see an example found in Syria cf. S.B. Matheson, Ancient Glass in the Yale University Art Gallery (New Haven 1980), 120, n°.147 A Group of 5 Roman and Byzantine glass flasks. 1st-7th century A.D. Set of five flasks and unguentaria from the Roman and Byzantine periods, illustrating the typological and chromatic diversity of ancient glassware intended for perfumes, unguents, and aromatic oils. The composition brings together: an elegant fusiform unguentarium in translucent beige glass with iridescent patina, of elongated tapered form characteristic of the 1st-2nd century; a delicate small pyriform flask in aquatic blue-green glass with long narrow neck, testifying to Syro-Palestinian production; an exceptional central piece-globular jug probably in glazed ceramic of Sassanid or early Islamic tradition, adorned with incised lozenge decoration and fitted with a graceful handle; a globular flask in dark brown glass with intense oxidation patina, probably of Egyptian or Levantine origin; and a bulbous balsamarium in opalescent cream glass with short neck. These miniature containers, produced in the great glass centers of Syria-Palestine (Sidon, Tyre), Egypt (Alexandria), or Asia Minor between the 1st and 7th centuries, served to preserve precious aromatic substances-nard, myrrh, balsam of Judea, floral essences-whose rarity and cost justified these small-format flasks. Used both in the daily life of elites and in funerary rituals where they accompanied the deceased, these objects testify to the importance accorded to perfumes and body care in ancient Mediterranean civilizations. The diversity of forms (fusiform, pyriform, globular), hues (from celestial blue to dark brown through translucent beiges), and iridescent patinas confers upon this ensemble exceptional museographic value, offering a complete panorama of the evolution of perfume glassware over nearly six centuries. For the sprinkler flask see an example found in Syria cf. S.B. Matheson, Ancient Glass in the Yale University Art Gallery (New Haven 1980), 120, n°.147