Pointed Bottle

Image Not Available

Expand

IIIFView PDF

Pointed Bottle

Place of OriginSyria

Date1st century CE

DimensionsH: 13 5/8 in. (34.6 cm); Diam: 4 in. (10.2 cm)

MediumGlass; free blown, added coil neck ring.

ClassificationGlass

Credit LinePurchased with funds from the Libbey Endowment, Gift of Edward Drummond Libbey

Object number

1967.4

On View

Toledo Museum of Art (2445 Monroe Street), Gallery, 02, Classic

DescriptionMedium thin glass. Fabric cannot be determined because of weathering. Translucent to transparent amber. Translucent grayish-green coil (near 5 G 5/2). Flaring rim, folded outward, upward, inward, and downward. Tall cylindrical neck with curved transition to shoulder. Sloping shoulder. Elongated, inverted, conical body with long drawn out hollow pointed end. Base flattened. Translucent to transparent amber. Translucent grayish green coil (near 5 G 5/2). Free-blown. Added coil. Wad and circular scar on base, ca. 1.8 cm. Flaring rim, folded outward, upward, inward, and downward. Tall cylindrical neck with curved transition to shoulder. Sloping shoulder. Elongated, inverted, conical body with long drawn out hollow pointed end. Base flattened. A colored coil halfway down neck.

Label TextCore-formed and cast glass vessels had been made at least as early as the 15th century BCE in Egypt and Mesopotamia, but glassblowing did not appear in the Roman Empire until the first century BCE. This skill was brought to the capital city of Rome from the eastern Mediterranean (modern Syria), after the area was annexed by Rome in 64 BCE. Blown glass immediately became fashionable and the material of choice in every facet of daily life, from a lady’s dressing table to the dinner table. The three examples displayed here show the variety and sophistication of free-blown glass. Some of the best preserved glass was found in ancient tombs. The pointed amphora (bottle) may have contained perfume, the two-handled jar probably held oil, and the large bottle perhaps held wine—all ready to accompany the dead into the next life.Published ReferencesSangiorgi, Giorgio, Collezione de vetri antichi dalle orinigi al V secolo D.C. ordinati e descritti da Giorgio Sangiorgi con prefazione di W. Froehner, Rome, 1914, no. 54, pl. viii.