A ROMAN GOLD-BAND GLASS MOSAIC BOTTLE

This opulent-looking vessel is characterised by strips of gold glass made of a layer of gold leaf sandwiched between two layers of colourless glass. During the Hellenistic period, gold-band glass was predominantly used in the creation of alabastra. The Romans, however, inspired by the Hellenistic models, applied the medium for the creation of a variety of new shapes and forms, such as we see with this example. See acc. no. 59.1.87 at the Corning Museum of Glass, for a similar vessel.