Janus flask, Egypt, 301-400CE

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Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

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Janus flask, Egypt, 301-400CE. Science Museum, London. Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0). Source: Wellcome Collection.

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The bottle is known as a ‘Janus flask’ from the double-faced head embossed on the body. The Christian Chi-Rho symbol is an amalgamation of the first letters of the name Christ in Greek. It is embossed on the base. The flask is made of blown glass. This technique was discovered in Syria in about 50CE. The glass was blown within a mould while still semi-molten. This allowed flasks such as this one to be mass produced. It held perfumes or scented oils. maker: Unknown maker Place made: Egypt

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