The stele is like a large, almost rectangular slab. It depicts the bust of a woman with a somewhat stiff and impersonal expression, carved in very high relief. The base, the back and the sides are flat and roughly hewn: it is possible that it served as a funerary stele.
The shape is elegant, with a globular body supported by a circular foot with an elaborate profile, and a long cylindrical neck ending in a smooth rim. The handle is distinctive: at its end, it features a large triangular decorative element, which also provides a comfortable resting place for the thumb whilst pouring.
From the 2nd century AD onwards, the Romans tended to prefer glass vessels of a natural colour (transparent, slightly bluish or green) rather than bright hues, as had been the case at the very beginning of the Imperial period.
This blown glass bottle is transparent, but shows pale gray shades. The patina adds a beautiful polychromy ranging from gold to violet-blue, whose appearance depends on the light.
