Bottle 12th-13th century

This bottle was made with glass by an anonymous artist. It’s an example of the kind of functional object that also carries social and cultural information. The bottle’s state of preservation allows us to infer a good deal about its social life in the past. This type of object helps us to investigate the history of trade, the hierarchies of consumption, and the symbolic meanings of luxury items. To understand this bottle better, we can look at the archaeological record, trade routes, and the chemical composition of the glass. Studying the cultural context of its production can reveal a great deal about the values and beliefs of the society that produced it. Was this bottle intended for daily use, or was it a precious object displayed to reflect the status of its owner?