ancientcharm:

 Cameo Glass Flask

Cameo glass is primarily a product of the early Roman Empire and is specifically associated with the elite and royal of the Julio-Claudian dynasty. Its manufacture is therefore mostly limited to the decades around 25 BC-AD 25 and it is rare; less than twenty pieces have survived in their entirety.

The meaningless hieroglyphs on the obelisk as well as the general obscurity of the iconography prevents a specific reading of the narrative. Instead, the figures and motifs would seem to evoke through setting and characterization the exotic Egyptian atmosphere so popular in the art of Julio-Claudian Rome.

The J. Paul Getty Museum