2012.479.8
Object Title
Glass snake-thread dropper flask
Measurements
Diameter: 3 1/8 x 2 3/16 x 1 15/16 in. (8 x 5.6 x 4.9 cm) Height: 4 1/8 in. (10.5 cm)
Creation Date
3rd century A.D.
Credit Line
Gift of Renée E. and Robert A. Belfer, 2012
Museum Name
Culture
Country of Origin
Object Type
Materials / Techniques
Object URL
http://www.metmuseum.org/collection/the-collection-online/search/257881
Provenance Information
Collection of Sleiman Aboutaam, circa 1980’s; with Phoenix Ancient Art, New York and Geneva, until 1993. Purchased by Renée E. and Robert A. Belfer from Phoenix Ancient Art, New York, on December 13, 1993. Given by Renée E. and Robert A. Belfer to The Metropolitan Museum of Art in 2012.
Exhibition Information
The work has been on loan to, and on display at, The Metropolitan Museum of Art since April 2007.
Publication Information
Lightfoot, Christopher S. 2014. "Recent Acquisitions, A Selection: 2012-2014." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, 72(2): p. 13.
Section of the AAMD Guidelines relied upon for the exception to 1970
Gift or bequest expected or on loan prior to 2008
Explain why the object fits the exception set forth above
This object has a provenance established to 1993 and has been on loan to, and on display at, The Metropolitan Museum of Art since 2007. Sprinkler flasks are regarded as a type of glass that was produced and used mainly in the Roman East. This example, therefore, provides important evidence for the use of multi-colored “snake-thread” trails on eastern products, which are more commonly only made with trails that match the color of the vessel, whereas most of the snake-thread vessels with differently-colored trails are known in the western provinces and are specifically associated with production at Cologne in the Rhineland.
