Posted 5 years ago
SpiritBear
(813 items)
I'd date this one this one more toward the second or third century C.E., but a similar example (see final photo) out of a city in what is now Turkey is all I can base my information off of. Indeed, it is more reflective of Turkey, or 'Levant' as a region, than any other region.
Basically, it's hand-blown, but I'm not understanding how the mould it was blown into was formed due to a certain characteristic of it (the base almost seems separate but cannot logically be). Base is also pontiled from finishing it off.
I believe the top had been dipped into some sort of solution to pearlise it, because the mouth (which still had rock-hard dirt in it when I got it) preserved a beautiful opalescent glaze inside, and there are trace amounts still on the outside of the neck.
The bottle is cracked where the glass had decomposed enough (a swirl where few silicates got mixed in) to, basically, crumble. Other than that and some scratches and the general dull surface of decomposed glass, this apple green piece looks great with a nice overlay of patina on some portions!
Having updated my label info, I just tossed it over my old label as shown. As for what it was used for, that is unknown.
REGARDING MY EXQUISITE DISAPPOINTMENT IN BARNEBY'S
You know, I decided to try Barneby's appraisal service to get more information, and I couldn't be any more disappointed in them. One, I thought an appraisal is supposed to give you a value, and they didn't. Two, I got no new information on it, and I found more information by myself than what they gave to me. Three, their two-day service took four days. Four, I sent in a complaint and never got a single message back, so their customer service is atrocious as well. It's been nearly a month!
So, Barneby's is, in my opinion, a waste of money.
Nice addition to your bottle collection. After seeing how CW was mucked-up when Barnebys entered the picture, are you surprised by their appraisal service ? Thanks for warning the rest of us.
Looks like they promise three things with an appraisal: authentication, market value and insurance value.
Sounds like they didn't deliver on two of the three!
I'd dispute the charge as well.
scott
Blunderbuss, thank you; and, yes, they should have fixed what was broken rather than break more on here. Another user had a positive, though I question it, experience with them. I was hoping to have the same.
Scottvez, I didn't get any of those three, actually. I couldn't be any more disappointed in them. I've been ignored by them anyway.
Good to know since it is often plugged on the site by their folks!
scott
Truth in advertising is enforced by the Federal Trade Commission.
Advertising is rarely true. Look at food-commercials: shellacked bread. beefed up sandwiches, and drinks with alka-seltzers in them!
At the store for which I work, they broadcast, "11% off everything!", but it's a lie! You have to mail-in the rebate to get 11% back as an in-store credit, and even then the cost of postage and an envelope are not included!
As an update:
They decided to email me, not via my original email, 28 days after I sent my complaint in. I'm guessing they read this and now want to save face though they're still not going to address my complaints in a proper manner.
Based on what you have written, the only way to rectify would be to refund your $17 payment and issue an apology.
Sounds like this item may have been out of their scope of expertise, in which case they should have advised you of the fact and REFUNDED your payment.
Amazing that they would allow $17 to generate any amount of "bad press".
scott
Ability to authenticate comes with experience of dealing with items. Many folks on here (and other sites) have zero experience and can get some valuable information through an appraisal.
While things are worth what someone is willing to pay, that dollar amount usually falls within a certain range of values and it is often very useful to know and understand that range.
scott
I only went forward with it to gain more info on the bottle, because originally I wasn't sure what to make of it: the who, what, when, where side of things. One of our fellow collectors told me on another site that it was a modern candlestick holder, which I can guarantee against due to the type of decomposition of the glass that cannot be faked (patina, though, can be). But, as Bobby points out, I ended up finding more on my doggedly determined searches than what their 'expert' could give me.
As for authentication, it's old, and it was dug up. That's all I can verify. The similar example from Turkey is the closest I came to it. The region of 'Levant' is the best general description for the shape.