<em>Polychrome Core-formed Bottle with Festooned Design</em>, ca. 1390–1336 B.C.E. Glass, 3 3/8 x Diam. 2 7/16 in. (8.6 x 6.2 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 37.341E. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.37.341E_view5.jpg)

Polychrome Core-formed Bottle with Festooned Design, ca. 1390–1336 B.C.E. Glass, 3 3/8 x Diam. 2 7/16 in. (8.6 x 6.2 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 37.341E. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.37.341E_view5.jpg)

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Polychrome Core-formed Bottle with Festooned Design

Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art

On View: Egyptian Orientation Gallery, 3rd Floor

Vessels

Ancient Egyptian artists produced vessels in both glass and faience, producing different effects with each material.

The Egyptians began manufacturing glass vessels during the Eighteenth Dynasty reign of Thutmose III (circa 1479–1425 B.C.E.). Early examples, valued for their rarity and beauty, were luxury items used to store precious oils and perfumes. Craftsmen produced striking effects by adding threads of colored glass to a vessel’s surface while it was still hot and then dragging a pointed object across the surface to produce festooned patterns. The artist who made the fish flask shown here indicated the animal’s scales by pressing blue powdered glass down into the interior.

Early scholars often incorrectly characterized faience as simply an inexpensive substitute for glass, but recent research suggests that the Egyptians favored the material because of its attractive color and its association with water, the source of creation. A characteristic type of Eighteenth Dynasty faience vessel is the shallow bowl. Early in the dynasty, artists painted the interiors of these bowls with marsh scenes including fish and water plants; later painters introduced human figures.

MEDIUM Glass

Reportedly From: Saqqara, Egypt

DATES ca. 1390–1336 B.C.E.

DYNASTY late Dynasty 18

PERIOD New Kingdom

DIMENSIONS 3 3/8 x Diam. 2 7/16 in. (8.6 x 6.2 cm) (show scale)

COLLECTIONS Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art

ACCESSION NUMBER 37.341E

CREDIT LINE Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund

PROVENANCE Archaeological provenance not yet documented, possibly from Saqqara, Egypt; by 1852, acquired in Egypt Henry Abbott of the United Kingdom and Cairo, Egypt; 1859, purchased from Henry Abbott by the New-York Historical Society, New York, NY; 1937, loaned from the New-York Historical Society to the Brooklyn Museum; September 1948, purchased from the New-York Historical Society by the Brooklyn Museum.

Provenance FAQ

CATALOGUE DESCRIPTION Dark blue glass bottle with tall neck, and two tall strap handles. The body and neck are decorated with dragged festoon patterns of yellow and white. Condition: One handle missing.

EXHIBITIONS

MUSEUM LOCATION This item is on view in Egyptian Orientation Gallery, 3rd Floor

CAPTION Polychrome Core-formed Bottle with Festooned Design, ca. 1390–1336 B.C.E. Glass, 3 3/8 x Diam. 2 7/16 in. (8.6 x 6.2 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 37.341E. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.37.341E_view5.jpg)

IMAGE overall, CUR.37.341E_view5.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph

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RIGHTS STATEMENT Creative Commons-BY

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