Inkwell (Pyxis)
Inkwell (Pyxis)
Place of OriginAncient Rome
Date1st-2nd century CE
DimensionsH: 2 3/16 in. (5.6 cm); Rim Diam: 2 9/16 in. (6.6 cm); Body Diam: 1 31/32 in. (5.0 cm); Base Diam: 2 3/8 in. (6.0 cm).
MediumGlass; free blown and tooled.
ClassificationGlass
Credit LineGift of Edward Drummond Libbey
Object number
1923.558
Not on View
DescriptionMedium thin glass. Small spherical bubbles elongated horizontally in the projecting rolls of the body.
Translucent dark bluish green (not in Munsell). Opaque white thread.
Free-blown. Pontil mark or reamer, 1.7 cm. Added threads, melted into surface.
Rim rounded in flame and folded inward to cover vessel, leaving only a small round opening in the center. Near horizontal shoulder with hollow projecting roll at top and bottom of cylindrical body. Pushed-in base with hollow tubular base-ring; slight depression in center of scar.
Short lengths white thread randomly trailed onto and melted into surface, vaguely suggesting a marbled surface.
Published ReferencesHayes, John W., Roman and Pre-Roman Glass in the Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, 1975, p. 55, no. 129. (A close parallel dated "Mid-late 1st century A.D.").
Puma R. D. de, Art in Roman Life: Villa to Grave, Roma, "L'Erma" di Bretschneider, 2009, no. 188, p. 134.
Exhibition HistoryCedar Rapids Museum of Art, Art in Roman Life: Villa to Grave, September 2003-August 2005 (no catalog).
Comparative ReferencesMentioned by Auth 1977, as a parallel to her no. 146.Probably mid-fifth to mid-sixth century
Mid-fourth to mid-fifth century
Late first century BCE to early first century CE
about 350-300 BCE
Probably mid-fourth to mid-fifth century
5th-6th century CE
Late first century BCE to early first century CE
Probably 3rd Century CE
Last quarter of 1st to mid-2nd century
Last quarter of 1st to mid-2nd century
Late 2nd to early 3rd century CE
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