43. Roman pipette-shaped flask, 1st-3rd century AD
Glass
Height: 24.8cm
11310
£ 2,800.00
Free-blown in transparent, colourless glass. The flask has a long conical neck, the body bulging in the middle creating a lozenge-shaped silhouette, the elongated lower body tapering to the thick,...
Free-blown in transparent, colourless glass. The flask has a long conical neck, the body bulging in the middle creating a lozenge-shaped silhouette, the elongated lower body tapering to the thick, rounded base, the everted rim with inward-folded lip. Intact.
Pliny, in his Natural History XXXVI, 198, stated that "the most highly valued glass is colourless and transparent, as closely as possible resembling rock crystal".
Provenance
Anonymous Sale; Sotheby's, London, 8th May 1978, lot 229Christopher Sheppard, London, UK
Mrs Traudi (1922-2013) and Professor Peter H. Plesch (1918-2013), UK; acquired from the above 1978, collection number AGv. 25C
Their sale; Christie's, London, 28th April 2009
Sheikh Saud Al-Thani (1966-2014), London, UK and Paris, France; acquired from the above
Literature
The British Museum refers to this form as pipette-shaped; see an example in their collection, GR 1889.8-2.1Publications
Sotheby's, London, Antiquities and Tribal Art, 8th May 1978, lot 229Christie's, London, The Plesch Collection of Ancient Glass, 28th April 2009, lot 48
