Ancient Egyptian - Core glass amphoriskos - 5th/3rd century BC

RARE GLASS AMPHORISK MADE AT THE CORE
Egypt Ptolemaic period, 5th/3rd century BC
Harden type amphora with dark blue background. Mouthpiece hemmed with yellow thread. Yellow thread applied in a spiral on the shoulder.
The middle part of the belly is decorated with turquoise, yellow and blue threads worked in a zigzag pattern. Below, circles of yellow thread.
Dark blue glass handles applied from shoulder to neck; dark blue glass button foot.
Dark blue opaque glass; yellow, blue and turquoise decoration.
Eastern Mediterranean, 6th-5th century BC
Height: 7.3 cm - diameter 4.4 cm - Excellent condition - restoration.
A very rare piece!

This amphoriskos, or “miniature amphora,” is a bottle containing scented oils or perfume.
The custom of using delicately crafted glass vessels to hold valuables began in the Late Bronze Age in Western Asia and Egypt, and was revived in Mesopotamia in the Early Iron Age. Their small size and pleasantly rounded shape make these vessels comfortable to hold in the hand.
The shape also occurs in terracotta, and rarely in metal, but ultimately this shape copies that of the large transport amphorae of the 6th century BC, which were used for the distribution of wine and olive oil throughout the Mediterranean.

The core-forming technique in glassmaking involves forming a core of removable 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 wire over the core as it rotates.
The vessel is heated and repeatedly marbled, or rolled, on a flat stone slab. The decoration in the form of glass threads is then dragged and pressed onto the surface, usually after being combed or dragged with a pin or metal hook in a zigzag, feather, or other pattern.
The metal rod is then removed and the container is annealed. Once the core is scraped, the rim, handles and base knobs are applied after additional reheating.

Origin: Germany, M.R.S. gallery.
Previously: Germany, former private collection Otto Schäfer, Schweinfurt