Spherical Jug with Spouted Mouth

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Spherical Jug with Spouted Mouth

Place of OriginRoman Empire, Syria or Palestine

DateProbably early fourth century

DimensionsH: 4 9/16 in. (11.6 cm); Rim Diam: 2 3/16 in. (5.5 cm); Body Diam: 2 3/4 in. (7 cm)

MediumGlass; free-blown, tooled, and applied handle.

ClassificationGlass

Credit LineGift of Edward Drummond Libbey

Object number

1923.1070

Not on View

DescriptionThis spherical jug, classified as Jug Class IB1a with coil handle IA2a, was free-blown from thin, good-quality glass and shows blowing spirals and a few pinprick bubbles in the body, with horizontally elongated bubbles in the rim. The glass is transparent, manganese-colored pale red (5 R 6/2) with a translucent handle appearing grayish-red (10 R 4/2). The vessel has a spouted mouth with a rim rounded and thickened in flame. Its tapering neck curves smoothly into a strongly sloped shoulder and a spherical body with a flattened base and central depression. Five applied ribs begin at the base, where they are thick, and gradually melt into the surface toward the shoulder. A straight plain coil handle, characteristic of its classification, is applied to the shoulder and attached to the rim where it was pressed down to form a closed loop beneath the mouth and then flattened horizontally. The pontil mark measures about 0.9 cm in diameter. Excess glass at the tip of the handle was drawn to the side and cut off, with flat toolmarks on the top and interior of the handle.

Published ReferencesAuth, Susan H., Ancient Glass at the Newark Museum, Newark, NJ, 1976, no. 126, p. 109.