Perfumed oil bottle (unguentarium)
Date3rd c. CE
Periodlate Roman
Object GeographyMediterranean
Geography NotesSaid to be from Cyprus
MediumGlass (free blown)
DimensionsHEIGHT: 6 1/16 in. (15.4 cm)
DIAMETER: 1 7/16 in. (3.6 cm) (body)
DIAMETER: 1 7/16 in. (3.6 cm) (body)
ClassificationGlass
Credit LineBequest of John Ringling, 1936
Object numberSN28.1119
Tall bulbous perfumed oil containers were once called tear bottles because of their tear-drop shape and because some scholars thought that they were meant to contain mourners’ tears. Part of their beauty today stems from the way that the glass decays and takes on a patina of several iridescent colors.
On View
Not on view
late 1st-2nd c. AD
4th to early 5th c. CE
3rd–2nd Century BC
3rd–2nd Century BC
3rd–2nd Century BC
3rd–2nd Century BC
3rd–2nd Century BC
3rd–2nd Century BC
2nd-3rd century AD
1st century BCE - 1st century CE
3rd–2nd Century BC
2nd-3rd Century AD