Francesca Hickin
Head of Department
Lot 11*
A Roman amber glass date flask
6 July 2021, 15:00 BST
London, New Bond StreetSold for £3,187.50 inc. premium
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Anna Marston
Associate Specialist
A Roman amber glass date flask
Circa 1st-early 2nd Century A.D.
The body blown into a two-part mould to resemble the wrinkly skin of the fruit, with opaque white glass on the interior of the mouth, with short cylindrical neck and a partially flared rim, 6.5cm high
Circa 1st-early 2nd Century A.D.
The body blown into a two-part mould to resemble the wrinkly skin of the fruit, with opaque white glass on the interior of the mouth, with short cylindrical neck and a partially flared rim, 6.5cm high
Footnotes
Provenance:
with Merrin Gallery, New York.
Private collection, USA, acquired from the above 18 February 1992.
It is suggested that such bottles may have held scented oils or medicines. Apicius II and Pliny mention the date fruit being used both in cooking and as a medicinal ingredient. Its form symbolises sweetness and these bottles may also have served as funerary offerings as they have been found in tombs of women and girls. For a full discussion on the technique, date, distribution, function and interpretation of date-flasks, see E. Marianne Stern, The Toledo Museum of Art, Roman Mold-blown Glass, the First through the Sixth Centuries, Toledo, 1995, pp. 91-4, 172-80, nos. 84-107.