Tubular Bottle
Front
Tubular Bottle 2019-08-12
Name/Title
Tubular BottleEntry/Object ID
11NE-Mi15-153Description
The circular mouth has an octagonal-like rim due to oval cut facets on the outer walls of the body. The body is tubular with oval cut facets arranged in an irregular pattern which stops an inch above the base. The bottom edges of the body are slightly rounded, converging into a flat base. The vessel is intact with iridescence and yellow-brown patina covering the vessel.Context
The practice of ornamenting glass with oval cut facets was originally derived from Roman glass decorating techniques. The Parthians inherited the tradition and passed it down to the Sasanians who in turn directly passed the craft to Islamic artisans. The concave reticulations of oval or circular cut facets are a typical design of vessels found in Mesopotamia, attributed to the Sassanian period. These vessels are not uncommon. However, their use is still uncertain. The long cylindrical form, closed at one end indicates that the vessel was likely used to store scent or used as an unguent container. Another suggestion is that these vessels were utilized in writing, either to hold brushes or pens. However, another suggestion posits that they may have been used to protect documents by rolling the document tightly and storing it in the vessel; though the size of the internal diameter would have made the extraction of a rolled document difficult without damaging the vessel.Made/Created
Date made
200 CE - 600 CETime Period
Sasanian EmpireEthnography
Culture/Tribe
Near Eastern - Sasanian