Page 147 - Lazar, Irena. 2022. Pogled skozi steklo / A Look Through the Glass. Koper: Založba Univerze na Primorskem. Libri universitatis hereditati, 1
P. 147
with opaque white trails or simple colourless the over 5,000 vessels recovered just 65 (or less the glass from the gnalič wreck 147
trail decoration. A simple plain or wavy trail is than 0.012%) of the assemblage falls into this
sometimes applied around the upper neck. group.
A separate and homogenous group is the The most striking of these are made of deep
sprinkler – a small flask with a spherical body blue or opaque red glass and decorated with
and a tall tapering neck (figure/slika 64). This blobs of coloured glass which are ‘marvered’ or
is a very distinctive form of a container as it is smoothed into their surfaces (figure/slika 65).
the only one in which contents were complete- Plainer, but no less unusual, are over 40 exam-
ly sealed. Sprinklers are usually assumed to have ples of plain blue oval flasks with a distinctive
held perfumes and other precious liquids. The ‘stepped’ rim. All of these vessels cannot be par-
bottle was designed so that its narrow top could alleled by examples from known centres of West-
easily be snapped off and the contents dripped ern European glass production. Their presence,
out. The form causes the contents of the vessel to albeit in relatively small numbers, on what had
pour slowly, or in drops, as would be needed for been previously assumed to be a Venetian galley
perfume-sprinkling. This use is not certain, but is curious. Certainly, they confirm that the car-
the shape has led us to regard it as the most like- go consisted of a more complex mixture of ves-
ly function for these vessels. The examples from sels than originally first thought.
Gnalić are plain, optic-blown with ribbing or
decorated with opaque white trailing. They are Figure 65: Small oval bottle with splashed decoration
all made of high-quality glass and are excellent- (photo: Tomaž Lauko).
ly manufactured. Slika 65: Ovalna steklenička z okrasom nataljenih lis
(foto: Tomaž Lauko).
In this context, we should also mention the
small pear-shaped flask, represented by only a In addition to vessel glass, over 1.300 pieces
few examples. The form of the flask leads us to of flat glass were recovered, forming nearly 25%
the tentative possibility that these are parts of
sandglasses (Lazar and Willmott 2006a, 55, fig.
66). This was an instrument for measuring time,
and took the form of a reversible device made of
two vertical connected phials. The sandglasses
are known archaeologically from the early 13th
century in Italy, but most examples date to the
17th century and continued in common usage
until the 18th century (Willmott 2005). The first
production centres to specialise in them were in
Venice, the Low Countries and Germany.
Whilst the vast majority of the vessels could
be shown to belong to relatively few well-defined
categories, there were some smaller groups of
glass which were much more unusual. Perhaps
one of the most interesting of these was a num-
ber of intentionally coloured oval bottles and
shallow small bowls that were distinctly un-Eu-
ropean in style. This leads to several possibilities:
that this glass was manufactured for a specif-
ic customer in the East or simply for an eastern
market. However, this assemblage is small and of
trail decoration. A simple plain or wavy trail is than 0.012%) of the assemblage falls into this
sometimes applied around the upper neck. group.
A separate and homogenous group is the The most striking of these are made of deep
sprinkler – a small flask with a spherical body blue or opaque red glass and decorated with
and a tall tapering neck (figure/slika 64). This blobs of coloured glass which are ‘marvered’ or
is a very distinctive form of a container as it is smoothed into their surfaces (figure/slika 65).
the only one in which contents were complete- Plainer, but no less unusual, are over 40 exam-
ly sealed. Sprinklers are usually assumed to have ples of plain blue oval flasks with a distinctive
held perfumes and other precious liquids. The ‘stepped’ rim. All of these vessels cannot be par-
bottle was designed so that its narrow top could alleled by examples from known centres of West-
easily be snapped off and the contents dripped ern European glass production. Their presence,
out. The form causes the contents of the vessel to albeit in relatively small numbers, on what had
pour slowly, or in drops, as would be needed for been previously assumed to be a Venetian galley
perfume-sprinkling. This use is not certain, but is curious. Certainly, they confirm that the car-
the shape has led us to regard it as the most like- go consisted of a more complex mixture of ves-
ly function for these vessels. The examples from sels than originally first thought.
Gnalić are plain, optic-blown with ribbing or
decorated with opaque white trailing. They are Figure 65: Small oval bottle with splashed decoration
all made of high-quality glass and are excellent- (photo: Tomaž Lauko).
ly manufactured. Slika 65: Ovalna steklenička z okrasom nataljenih lis
(foto: Tomaž Lauko).
In this context, we should also mention the
small pear-shaped flask, represented by only a In addition to vessel glass, over 1.300 pieces
few examples. The form of the flask leads us to of flat glass were recovered, forming nearly 25%
the tentative possibility that these are parts of
sandglasses (Lazar and Willmott 2006a, 55, fig.
66). This was an instrument for measuring time,
and took the form of a reversible device made of
two vertical connected phials. The sandglasses
are known archaeologically from the early 13th
century in Italy, but most examples date to the
17th century and continued in common usage
until the 18th century (Willmott 2005). The first
production centres to specialise in them were in
Venice, the Low Countries and Germany.
Whilst the vast majority of the vessels could
be shown to belong to relatively few well-defined
categories, there were some smaller groups of
glass which were much more unusual. Perhaps
one of the most interesting of these was a num-
ber of intentionally coloured oval bottles and
shallow small bowls that were distinctly un-Eu-
ropean in style. This leads to several possibilities:
that this glass was manufactured for a specif-
ic customer in the East or simply for an eastern
market. However, this assemblage is small and of
