Roman Glass Perfume Bottle (4th century BC)

SUMMARY
An amphoriskos-shaped archeological glass perfume bottle made of blue-green translucent glass. Possibly core-formed, the vessel widens from a narrow cylindrical neck to a wider shoulder and then tapers to a point at the base, and is decorated with concentric rings and combed feathering in contrasting yellow glass, as well as possibly an additional contrasting color. The walls of the bottle are as thick as ¼ inch in places and much of the translucency is hidden by iridescent weathering layers on the outer surface.

This archeological glass perfume bottle belongs to the Sursock Palace in Beirut, Lebanon. The bottle was on display when it was damaged during the 2020 Beirut port explosion.

TREATMENT
Fragments were joined with a 30% solution of 3:1 Paraloid B-72: Paraloid B-48N in 9:1 acetone:ethanol
Larger losses were filled with rolled Japanese tissue impregnated with 5% Paraloid B-72 in acetone and faced with a layer of the same tissue
Select consolidation of weathering layers performed near breaks with 3% Paraloid B-72 in acetone applied by brush
Smaller losses around the joins were filled with Flügger
Fills were inpainted with Golden acrylics