Hellenistic smooth glass Bowl
Hellenistic smooth glass Bowl
A semi-spherical bowl, very regular in shape and without a base, which was core-formed and decorated with lathe-cut grooves, just below the lip and around the base.
2nd century B.C.
D: 10.7 cm
In stock
Product Description
This core-formed bowl is simply decorated with lathe-cut grooves just below the lip. The base is slightly concave.
Such glass cups were among the most popular forms of drinking vessels between the late Hellenistic and the early Imperial period. The production workshops were probably located in the major centers of the Levantine coast. Despite their quite simple morphology, there are lots of related core-formed bowls, differing mostly in size, in proportions and in the color of the glass (transparent, pale green, amber, and later blue and aubergine-purple, etc.).
Towards the end of the Hellenistic period, glass definitely supplanted clay as a raw material for the manufacture of containers in all areas of daily life. With versatility like no other known material in ancient times, abundant availability, lightness and ease of use, glass enabled the imitation of a wide range of other materials (precious metals especially), whether in the form, the design or the color. Furthermore, glass is a chemically neutral substance, what makes it particularly suitable for the storage of cosmetics or pharmaceutical products, as well as food and liquids.
