Highly important Byzantine Coptic dark amber ribbed glass perfume bottle with rolled papyrus plug. Ca 700-800 ce. Size : The contents of this bottle, an oily based perfume, is intact and still sweet smelling; could this be the lost Biblical BALSAM perfume ? The secondary use of an old document as a plug for a perfume bottle is recorded in the Mishnah :"He who takes out an already collected bond to wrap around a small perfume bottle" (Tosefta Shabbat 8:12). Materials:  Glass Item Type:  Glass Vessel Region:  Israel Cultural Origin:  Judeo-Christian Era:  Byzantine Period, ca. 330-638 ce Condition:  Superb Repairs:  Intact

    

Tags: 330-638 ce, Cultural Origin: Judeo-Christian, Era: Byzantine Period, Materials: Glass, Region: Israel