Amphoriskos (Container for Oil)

Ancient Roman

1st century

Attribution: Roman, probably Syria
Medium: Glass, mold-blown
Physical dimensions: 10.5 × 4.5 × 4.5 cm (4 1/8 × 1 3/4 × 1 3/4 in.)
Credit line: Gift of Theodore W. and Frances S. Robinson

CATALOGUE RECORD

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Source rights statement: Public domain

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From the museum

Shortly after glassblowing was invented in the Eastern Mediterranean in the first century BCE, enterprising glassmakers created a shaping technique known as moldblowing, in which they inflated a bubble of molten glass within a mold. This process enabled rapid production and promoted the development of new vessel shapes and sizes.

Description: Art Institute of Chicago · CC BY 4.0