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Ancient Roman

Amphoriskos (Container for Oil)

1st century
Glass, mold-blown
4.5 × 4.5 cm (1.8 × 1.8 in)

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● On view now — Gallery 154

Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago · verified July 2026

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FROM THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO’S CATALOG

Shortly after glassblowing was invented in the Eastern Mediterranean in the first century BCE, enterprising glassmakers created a shaping technique known as moldblowing, in which they inflated a bubble of molten glass within a mold. This process enabled rapid production and promoted the development of new vessel shapes and sizes.

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