"Alabastron" with Silver Case

Description In the early Roman period, glass was a precious material ranked alongside gold, silver, and gems. It was often combined with precious metals for a luxurious effect. To create this "alabastron," a vessel for perfumed ointments, glass was blown into a silver case decorated with a head of Pan or a river god on either side.

Conservation

Old repairs on the upper lip were redone, removing animal glue and replacing it with an acrylic adhesive. The upper lip of the glass is badly broken with missing fragments.

This object was cleaned and stabilized after a damage incident. Several associated glass fragments were removed and kept separately, because they belonged to a different object. It is believed that these fragments were added at a later date to give this object a more complete appearance.

Date	Description	Narrative
2/15/2018	Examination	Treated for exhibition
12/04/2018	Treatment	cleaned; repaired; stabilized; surface cleaned

Provenance [Found in Macedonia]; Dikran Kelekian, New York and Paris [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1912, by purchase; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.

Credit Acquired by Henry Walters, 1912