Glass 'Mercury' bottle

Very fine quality colorless color glass bottle, in perfect condition and brilliant iridescence covering almost all of surfaces.

Broad rim, folded out, down, round and in, and flattened on top surface; thick-walled cylindrical neck, expanding downwards; pushed-in horizontal shoulder with raised rounded corners; square, thick-walled body, with flat sides; concave bottom.

Bottles of this type are often called Mercury flasks because the figure of Mercury, the Roman god of commerce and trade, appears in molded relief on the bottom of some examples. On the bottom of this bottle is a peacock with outstretched tail feathers. These sturdy and very portable containers are found mainly in Italy and the western provinces; they are virtually unknown from the eastern half of the Empire.

  • Glass

  • 11 × 2,8 cm

    c. 200 - 300 AD

  • Dos & Bertie Winkel collection

  • € 2200,—