
Siobhan Quin
Senior Specialist
Sold for £4,480 inc. premium
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Provenance:
Chalk collection, UK, 1970s; and thence by descent, until 1994.
Private collection, New York.
with Ariadne Galleries, New York, 2015.
Anonymous sale; Arte Primitivo, New York, 18 May 2022, lot 586.
Accompanied by a Striptwist Ltd Report, dated 20 November 2014.
Rock crystal vessels, such as dishes, drinking cups, and small amphoriskoi such as this, were rare and highly prized luxury items in the Roman Empire. The paucity of the material, available only from a limited number of sources, and the labour-intensive manufacturing process, made their ownership the remit of the elite only. Amphoriskoi such as this piece most likely contained expensive perfumed oils, and likely formed part of the toilette of a high-born Roman matrona. Cf. an example in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, acc. no. 99.457, which has a faceted octagonal body, and another at the Getty Museum, acc.no.83.AN.331.