Bottle within a Bottle Fragment

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Bottle within a Bottle Fragment

Place of OriginRoman Empire

Date3rd-4th century CE

DimensionsH: 2 3/8 in. (6.0 cm); Rim Diam: 13/16 in. (2.1 cm); Body Diam: 1 1/4 in. (3.2 cm); Base Diam: 2 7/16 in. (6.2 cm)

MediumGlass; free-blown and tooled.

ClassificationGlass

Credit LineGift of Edward Drummond Libbey

Object number

1923.1887

Not on View

DescriptionMedium thin glass (outer vessel); medium thick (inner vessel). Transparent natural pale yellowish-green (near 10 GY 7/2, but more grayish-yellow) with dark blue-green snake thread (exact color cannot be determined because of weathering). Free-blown. Pontil mark ca. 2.3 cm. Snake thread. The interior vessel could have been reheated and inserted through mouth of vessel after transferring to pontil rod and before definite shaping/finishing of neck and mouth of exterior vessel. Exterior vessel probably a jug or narrow-necked bottle (cf. bottles from Cologne, Fremersdorf V, 1059, plates 77, 79) with hollow, pushed-in tubular base ring. Inner vessel is a miniature amphoriscus: rim rounded and thickened in flame; concave neck; gently sloping shoulder, inverted piriform body; thick solid base; two coil handles applied to shoulder and attached to rim. On each side of body of inner vessel, a corrugated snake thread trailed on in free-form loops.

Published ReferencesBarag, Dan P., "Glass Vessels of the Roman and Byzantine Periods in Palestine," 2 vols. (Jerusalem 1970)('Atiqot. Journal of the Israel Department of Antiquities, Hebrew Series) p. 8 and 74-5, no. 2, fig. 1, 2, pl. 22, 2.