Aryballos - German/German
The "Aryballos" made of glass is 2500 years old. It is one of the oldest exhibits in the Wertheim Glass Museum. "Aryballos" is Greek and refers to a spherical oil bottle made of clay. The "Aryballos" was the preferred oil vessel of Greek athletes. They fastened it with a band around their wrist and carried it on their way to wrestling school. After sport, they rubbed their bodies with the oil to cleanse them. To do this, they used a scraper, the "strigilis", to remove the dirt absorbed by the oil from their bodies.
"Ariballoi" made of glass were absolute luxury items for rare oils and ointments in ancient times. Not only because of their elaborate manufacturing process, but also simply because of the precious glass. The first fully fused glass object was the accidental product of the quartz ceramists. Since the 5th millennium B.C. in Mesopotamia and later in Egypt, they processed quartz sand, soda and lime into glass-like objects, the faience. Ancient glass production was limited to a few production centres linked to the royal court. The raw glass produced there and traded worldwide in the form of coloured chunks, shards and ingots was processed locally into inlays, beads and amulets. Glass was considered a precious substitute for the expensive and hard-to-get gemstones.
The first glass vessels were created around 1500 BC. These were formed around a refractory core of clay, sand and organic material. The core then had to be painstakingly scraped out. Each vessel required a new core as a mould. A brisk production of such core-formed vessels began in the eastern Mediterranean region in the middle of the 6th century BC. Our "Aryballos" also dates from this time.
Aryballos - English
The glass "Aryballos" is 2500 years old and is one of the oldest exhibits in the Wertheim Museum of Glass. "Aryballos" is Greek and denotes a spherically shaped oil bottle made of clay. The "Aryballos" was the preferred oil container of Greek athletes. They would attach it to their wrists with a band and carry it with them on their way to wrestling training. After taking part in the sport they would use the oil to cleanse their bodies by rubbing it into their skin so that it absorbed the dirt. They would then remove both oil and dirt with a scraper known as a "Strigilis".
"Ariballoi" made of glass were luxury items during antiquity, not only because of their complex production process, but also because glass was very precious, and they were therefore only used for rare oils and ointments. Earthenware contains quartz and it was earthenware makers who purely by chance, discovered the first fully melted glass object. From 5 BC onwards these craftspeople processed quartz sand, soda and limestone to create glass-like objects, known as Egyptian faience. Antique glass production was confined to a minority of production centres affiliated to the royal court. The raw glass produced there was sold all over the world in coloured chunks, shards and bars and was then worked into inserts, pearls and amulets. Glass was considered a valuable alternative to gemstones that were both expensive and difficult to obtain.
The first glass receptacles were made in around 1500 BC. They were made from a fire-resistant mixture of clay, sand and organic material and the mould had to be tediously scratched out by hand. This meant that each and every receptacle was made from a new mould. Despite this, the containers were actively produced from the mid 6th century BC in the east Mediterranean area. And this "Aryballos", also dates back to this time.