Archaeological evidence suggests that the ancient Levant was one of the first places in the world to produce glass, beginning in the mid-second millennium B.C. This vessel, in the rich deep-blue colour popular amongst the classical-era Phoenicians was moulded by dipping a core of mud and sand into melted glass, for glass-blowing was not introduced until the Roman period. It represents a fine example of the glassworker’s skill from the cradle of glassmaking.
It is fashioned as a ‘belly’ amphora, a style prevalent throughout the Mediterranean during the seventh to fourth centuries B.C. Whilst many amphorae had practical functions as transport or storage containers, decorative ones were also manufactured. The foot is extremely narrow, a reminder that the larger, more utilitarian, amphorae were typically half-buried in the ground to be used as cool storage for wine or oil.