300-450 AD. Late Roman. Pale green flask with flaring, folded rim, tapering neck and octagonal body; a cross motif is visible on the base of the vessel. Glass was a major manufacturing industry in the Roman Empire, especially after the invention of glassblowing in the middle of the first century BC, when glass became used for a variety of purposes including vessels, jewellery and construction materials such as glass or tiles. Roman glassmaking reached the farthest corners of the Empire and flourished until about 400 AD, when the Roman Empire started to disintegrate, finally falling in the late 5th century AD. Vessels would probably have been used for perfumes, oils (used as soap) and/or medicines in antiquity. Good condition; on a custom-made stand.Size: L:97mm / W:43mm ; 42.5g; Provenance: Property of a London gentleman, formerly with the Parthenon gallery, previously in an old English collection formed in the 1980s.