ANCIENT CIVILIZATIONS

Artifacts, Antiques, & Fine Collectibles

Chinese Translucent Green Glass Perfume/Oil Bottle

Tall Spiral Neck with Dragon Loop Side Handles

PROVENANCE/HISTORY

These melon-green, glass Perfume/Oil Bottle was obtained from an old collection that once was held in Henan, China.  The collection was reportedly moved to Hong Kong in the 1960s.  This is the first time it has been offered for sale in the United States.  This museum quality item with dried contents caked inside is Extremely RARE and is Guaranteed authentic and original!  

This item is legal to buy/sell under U.S. Statute covering cultural patrimony Code 2600, CHAPTER 14, and is guaranteed to be as described or your money back.  This item will come with a Certificate of Authenticity (COA) from ANCIENT CIVILIZATIONS. 

 

SUMMARY

Name:        Glass Perfume Bottle with Dragon Loop Side Handles

Material:   Translucent melon green

Height:       5.27” (134 mm)

Diameter:       2.69” (68mm)

Weight:      4.7 oz. (134 gr)

Origin:  Luoyang, Henan, China

 

DETAILS

 

This unique Chinese vessel is made of a stunning, translucent melon-green glass that measures 5.27” (134 mm) tall and weighs 4.7 oz. (134 gr).  It features twin, Dragon-shaped handles on each side. 

 

 

Inside the vessel’s tall, spiral neck that measures just 9.38mm in diameter are the dried remains of the liquid contents it once held, almost assuredly perfume or medicinal oils.   {See photos 9-10}.

 

A skilled craftsman made this vessel out of ocean-green minerals that had to be imported from the Middle East at great expense.  This ritual glass vessel would have held perfume or mineral oils for an elite member of society.

 

The creation of magnificent vessels was highly labor-intensive, and therefore its use was confined to that of the most important rituals of ancient emperors and aristocrats.  The oldest Shang Dynasty vessels were used in rituals centered on the sacrificial offering of food and wine to ancestors.  Like elaborate banquets for the dead, foods which included meats and grains as well as rice or millet wine and sacrificial water were prepared and presented in bronze vessels and then ritually offered at family altars, often located in a separate structure within a family compound.  As British scholar, Jessica Rawson, explains:

 

 

“These were essentially family ceremonies in which both the dead and the living took part. The dead remained an integral part of everyday society, requiring the kind of attention also given to living members of the family. The banquets or rituals were a show of respect to the dead so as to ensure that they would help their descendants by interceding on their behalf with the gods and spirits. Without help from the dead, and a proper acknowledgement of their role, human affairs might fail, and their descendants suffer.”

 

 

This was especially so of kings, whose ancestors not only had the power to affect the fortunes of their descendants, but were semi-godlike, having power and influence over the entire population as well. Thus, the most elaborate rituals-- more like ceremonies of state than the private rituals held by aristocratic families-- were performed by ancient kings. Highly decorated items created in sets played a leading role in these rituals—containing sacrifices and hosting their preparation.

 

 

REFERENCES

1.   Museum of Chinese History, Beijing

2.   Shanghai Museum of Glass, Shanghai, China

3.   Hunan Museum, China

4.   Palace Museum, Beijing, China

5.   Henan Provincial Museum, China

6.   Shaanxi Archaeology Institute, China

7.   The Ancestral Landscape, David N. Knightley, 2000

8.   The Great Bronze Age of China, edited by Wen Fong, MET, 1980

9.   China:  A Dawn of the Golden Age.

10.                     Changhua Annals of the Republic of China (1911–1949)

11.                     British Museum, Jessica Rawson

12.                     Smithsonian Museum, Sackler & Freer Gallery, WDC

13.                     MET, New York

14.                     Chinese History Museum in Beijing, China, contains an outstanding collection of early Chinese glass objects, including a small, glass aqua cup that was found in a Han Dynasty tomb in Guangxi Province, China.

15.                     See “Ancient Glass Research Along the Silk Road” Edited by Gan Fuxi (Chinese Academy of Sciences & Fudan University, China), Robert Brill (The Corning Museum of Glass, USA), & Tian Shouyun (Chinese Academy of Sciences, China). This book states that ancient Chinese glass from the Eastern Han Dynasty to the Tang Dynasty (200-700 AD) contained High Lead Silicate or PBO-SiO2.  Although chemical tests have not been run on this glass Jue, it is believed that it made from this glass composition.

16.                     See “Scientific Research in Early Chinese Glass” 1991, Author: Robert H. Brill and John H. Martin, editors.

17.                     Kwan, Simon; Early Chinese Glass; Hong Kong, 2001. ISBN. 9627 101524

18.                     Susan Whitfield, The Silk Road, Trade, Travel, War and Faith, London, 2004

 

Member of the Authentic Artifact Collectors Association (AACA) & the Archaeological Institute of America (AIA)

 

 

  

Bid with confidence--as I have Positive Feedback from hundreds of satisfied customers from around the world!

 

 

 Please look carefully at the photos, taken with macro lens, since they are part of the description. Some photos taken indoors and outdoors with a strong back light to show the beauty of the translucent glass.

It would make a wonderful addition to your collection or a Super gift!

 

 

The stand and AA Battery are not part of the sale, just there to give you a better perspective and a good view of item.

And please ask any questions before you buy. 

Thanks!

International buyers are responsible for all import taxes, duties, and shipping costs.

No international returns.  Thank You!