Roman glass bottle in the shape of a fish, 1st-2nd century A.D.
Zadar Museum of Ancient Glass,Croatia
In my reading of the Louvre’s database we’ve passed into the Common Era! I thought I would reblog this spectacular fish bottle to celebrate. ( x)
[ID: A photograph of a glass bottle suspended from thin cord or wire; the bottle has a long neck and narrow mouth, which forms a sort of tail to the fish. The fish itself is delicately wrought with scales, gills, a large eye, and a small mouth that would form the “base” of the bottle. It is light green but translucent, lit from behind by shaded windows.]
Object of the Week: Vessel Shaped Like Bird, possibly Switzerland or Northern Italy, 25-99. 66.1.223.
This delicate glass bird once held a powdered cosmetic or liquid perfume. It was made soon after glassblowing was created and glassblowers could make more elaborate, sculptural forms. The vessel was used only once; the user snapped the end of the tail off to remove the precious contents inside the bird.
This pendant, one of the earliest types of glass found in Mesopotamia, may represent the goddess Ishtar or one of her devotees. The Mesopotamian goddess of fertility and abundance, Ishtar was a popular deity in the ancient middle east, with close connections to other ancient goddesses like the Phoenician Astarte and Greek Aphrodite. The protruding belly and large breasts on this figure may represent the desire for a healthy pregnancy or gratitude for a safe delivery, and a plea to the goddess for her support, of an ancient woman.
Pendant with Nude Female, Northern Mesopotamia, 1500-1200 BCE, 55.1.64.
