Hexagonal Jug with Dionysiac Symbols

Place of OriginSyro-Palestinian, perhaps made in Sidon or Galilee

DateProbably second quarter of the first century

DimensionsH: 3 3/4 in. (9.6 cm); Rim Diam: 1 1/8 in. (2.8 cm); Max Diam: 2 1/16 in. (5.3 cm);
Base Diam: 1 1/8 in. (2.9 cm); H (Body): 2 11/16 in .(6.75 cm)

MediumNeck free blown. Body blown into a multipart mold of three or two vertical sections joined to a cup-shaped base section which included the ribbed area around the bottom (MCT I or MCT V).

ClassificationGlass

Credit LineGift of Edward Drummond Libbey

Object number

1923.485

Not on View

DescriptionMedium thin glass. Bubbles elongated vertically in neck. Remainder of fabric cannot be determined because of weathering. Mold seams concealed within the decoration. Tip of handle drawn out thin and folded back. Rim folded outward, upward, and inward. Neck slightly tapered. Convex shoulder and convex bottom joined by a hexagonal body. Flat base with two raised concentric circles around a central knob on the underside. Trifurcated handle applied to shoulder and attached to rim with projecting thumbrest above. Handle positioned above panel 2. On the shoulder, a frieze of thirty thick ribs. On the body, six rectangular panels, each containing a Dionysiac symbol, all of which except those in panel 1 are suspended by a single line from the top of the panel. In the panels, from left to right: 1, crossed double-ended thyrsoi; 2, a footed amphora with high handles; 3, a circular object decorated with two raised concentric circles and a central knob (probably a phiale); 4, a footed jug with spout to the left and high handle to the right; 5, a syrinx (pan pipes) with six reeds of the same length and two narrow crossbindings; and, 6, a footed amphora with high handles. Around the bottom, a frieze of thirty-seven thick ribs. Transparent to translucent grayish blue. Neck free blown. Body blown into a multipart mold of three or two vertical sections joined to a cup-shaped base section which included the ribbed area around the bottom (MCT I or MCT V C). Mold seams concealed within the decoration. Tip of handle drawn out thin and folded back. Rim folded outward, upward, and inward. Neck slightly tapered. Convex shoulder and convex bottom joined by a hexagonal body. Flat base with two raised concentric circles around a central knob on the underside. Trifurcated handle applied to shoulder and attached to rim with projecting thumbrest above. Handle positioned above panel 2. On the shoulder, a frieze of thirty thick ribs. On the body, six rectangular panels, each containing a Dionysiac symbol, all of which except those in panel 1 are suspended by a single line from the top of the panel. In the panels, from left to right: 1, crossed double-ended thyrsoi; 2, a footed amphora with high handles; 3, a circular object decorated with two raised concentric circles and a central knob (probably a phiale); 4, a footed jug with spout to the left and high handle to the right; 5, a syrinx (pan pipes) with six reeds of the same length and two narrow crossbindings; and, 6, a footed amphora with high handles. Around the bottom, a frieze of thirty-seven thick ribs.

Published ReferencesStern, E. Marianne, Roman Mold-blown Glass: the First through Sixth Centuries, "L'Erma" di Bretschneider in Association with the Toledo Museum of Art, Rome, Italy, 1995, cat. no. 73, p. 165.