An analysis of the chemical composition of the glass performed at the University of Sheffield, showing it to be consistent with the stated date, is sold with this lot. A report on the bowl and its comparisons to other related vessels is also available.

This belongs to a group of bowls found in tombs of the Sassanian period in Gilan, Northern Iran (Shinji Fukai: Study of Iranian Art and Archaeology - Glassware and Metalwork, Tokyo, 1968) and has the characteristic large circular facet on the base surrounded by seven smaller ones. While glass vessels with circular facets were probably made throughout the post-Sassanian period, this type belongs rather to the last two centuries of Sassanian rule.