Perfume or oil bottle
Culture: Greek
Date: late 6th-5th century B.C.
Dimensions:
h. 2 5/16 in. (5.9 cm); diam. 1 3/4 in. (4.4 cm)
Credit Line: Museum purchase: Stark-Willson Collection
Object number: 86.138.299
Provenance: by purchase, the Stark family, Orange, Texas, between 1927 and 1929; by bequest to Nelda C. and H. J. Lutcher Stark Foundation, Orange, 1965; sold by Stark Foundation to San Antonio Museum of Art with funding from Mr. and Mrs. Robert Willson, 1986
Label Text
Group label with 86.138.276 and 86.138.283:
These colorful glass bottles held scented oil or perfume. Like the terracotta oil bottles displayed here, glass bottles were often deposited in graves after their valuable contents were used to anoint the dead. This practice allowed the fragile bottles to survive to modern times. The costly oils and their bottles were also dedicated in sanctuaries as offerings to the gods and used for personal adornment. (J. Powers, 2018)
These colorful glass bottles held scented oil or perfume. Like the terracotta oil bottles displayed here, glass bottles were often deposited in graves after their valuable contents were used to anoint the dead. This practice allowed the fragile bottles to survive to modern times. The costly oils and their bottles were also dedicated in sanctuaries as offerings to the gods and used for personal adornment. (J. Powers, 2018)
On view
The San Antonio Museum of Art is in the process of digitizing its permanent collection. This electronic record was created from historic documentation that does not necessarily reflect SAMA's complete or current knowledge about the object. Review and updating of such records is ongoing.
This resource has been made possible in part by the National Endowment for the Humanities: Exploring the Human Endeavor.
