Miniature two-handled vase

Small two-handled vase, dark blue, with dragged feather design and lines in yellow, white, and light blue.

Historical period(s)
Dynasty 18, New Kingdom, ca. 1539-1295 BCE
Medium
Glass
Dimensions
H x W x D: 6.9 x 5.3 x 5.3 cm (2 11/16 x 2 1/16 x 2 1/16 in)
Geography
Egypt
Credit Line
Gift of Charles Lang Freer
Collection
Freer Gallery of Art Collection
Accession Number
F1909.429
On View Location
Freer Gallery 20: A Collector’s Eye: Freer in Egypt
Classification(s)
Glass, Vessel
Type

Vase

Keywords
Dynasty 18 (ca. 1539 - 1295 BCE), Egypt, New Kingdom (ca. 1539 - 1075 BCE)
Provenance

To 1909
Giovanni Dattari (circa 1858-1923), Cairo, Egypt, to 1909 [1]

From 1909 to 1919
Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Giovanni Dattari in 1909 [2]

From 1920
Freer Gallery of Art, gift of Charles Lang Freer in 1920 [3]

Notes:

[1] See S.I. 189, Miscellaneous List, Egyptian Glass, pgs. 1 and 4, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives. This piece is part of a collection of glass that was purchased en bloc and includes 1,388 specimens (for further purchase information, see the folder for F1909.332).

[2] See note 1.

[3] The original deed of Charles Lang Freer's gift was signed in 1906. The collection was received in 1920 upon the completion of the Freer Gallery.

Previous Owner(s) and Custodian(s)

Charles Lang Freer 1854-1919
Giovanni Dattari (C.L. Freer source) 1858-1923

Description

Small two-handled vase, dark blue, with dragged feather design and lines in yellow, white, and light blue.

Label

Core-formed glass vessels with patterned decoration were fashioned as containers for costly perfumed ointments, scented oils, and cosmetics.  The vessel shapes generally imitated those of containers made of beautifully veined stone or decorated pottery, industries of great antiquity and sophistication in ancient Egypt.  The production of core-formed glass vessels seems to have reached its high point during the reign of the Dynasty 18 pharaoh Amenhotep III (ca. 1390–1353 B.C.E.). 

Published References
  • John D. Cooney. Catalogue of Egyptian Antiquities in the British Museum. 7 vols., London, 1968-1987. vol. 4.
  • Jean Capart. Documents pour servir a l'etude de l'art egyptien. 2 vols., Paris, 1927 - 1931. vol. 2: pp. 75-76, pl. 81b.
  • Richard Ettinghausen. Ancient Glass in the Freer Gallery of Art. Washington, 1962. p. 12, fig. 12.
  • Birgit Schlick-Nolte. Die Glasgefasse im alten Agypten. Munchner agyptologische Studien, 14 Berlin. pp. 114-115, pl. 17, fig. 14.
Collection Area(s)
Ancient Egyptian Art
Web Resources
Google Cultural Institute
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