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Double cosmetic tube (balsamarium)
Byzantine, Palestinian
Early Byzantine Period
6th century
Medium/Technique
Glass, free-blown with applied coil handles and looped trail decoration
Dimensions
Height: 24.6 cm (9 11/16 in.)
Credit Line
Otis Norcross Fund
Accession Number01.7451
CollectionsEurope, Ancient Greece and Rome
ClassificationsVessels
DescriptionA cosmetic vessel in the shape of a double tube; three-tiered, three-dimensional coil basket handle. Thin coil trailed around body; thicker looped threads applied as vertical bands at four corners. Similar vessels are attributed to manufacture in early Byzantine Palestine.
Pontil mark at bottom. Pale green. Intact.
Pontil mark at bottom. Pale green. Intact.
ProvenanceBy date unknown: with Azeez Khayat, New York (according to the MFA Register of Glass: said to have come from the Eastern coast of the Mediterranean); November 1901: purchased by MFA from Azeez Khayat for $ 272.00 (this figure is the total price for MFA 01.7446-01.7451)