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Taiyo Ltd.
2-11-9, KYOBASHI, CHUO-KU, TOKYO 104-0031 JAPAN.
TEL: 03-5524-6066 |
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Oenochoe
East Mediterranean, glass, 5th-4th centuries BC
H: 15 cm
Glass making began in the 15th century BC and both Mesopotamia and Egypt are being given as its birthplace. The first glass vessels were made by wrapping molten glass around a sand core or forming it with a mold.
This oenochoe is a scent oil container made by the sand-core technique. The name comes from a Greek pottery drinking vessel characterized by the three-leaf shape of the spout. The neck, handle, and base are formed separately and attached to the body. The white and yellow patterns on the dark blue body of the vessel were applied by wrapping glass threads of both colors around the glass before it had fully hardened, and then pulling them with a thin rod up and down.
Scent oil applied to the body was in an everyday use among the upper classes
of ancient society.
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Unlike earthenware, pottery or bronze, glass does not interact with the content in any chemical reactions and does not allow oil to penetrate the walls of the vessel, so it has come to be used as an excellent material for scent oil containers. The glassblowing technique, invented in the late 1st century BC was a revolutionary technological advance not only in the production of scent oil containers, but also in the whole glass production. The glassblowing technique led to the diversification of forms and the acceleration of production.
The glass production in the Roman period is regarded as so particular that resulted in an expression "Roman glass". The use of glass increased, and along with the great demand for scent oil containers, also tableware and even urns began to be made of glass. However, even if glass vessels became widely popular due to the possibility of mass production as for ancient times, the users were still only from the upper class of society, and glass objects were still precious. |
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