Squat Square Bottle with One Handle

Place of OriginAncient Rome

Date1st-2nd Century

DimensionsH: 7 1/8 in.; W: 5 1/4 in.; D: 5 3/8 in.; Rim Diam: 3 1/2 in.; Handle height: 1 3/4

MediumGlass; mold blown, free blown

ClassificationGlass

Credit LineGift of Edward Drummond Libbey

Object number

1923.565

On View

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

DescriptionMedium thick glass. Fabric cannot be determined because of weathering. Transparent to translucent natural pale green (10 G 6/2). Body blown into a one-part mold with a patterned base. No pontil mark. Neck and mouth free-blown. Wide hollow rim, folded outward, downward, upward, inward, and slightly flattened. Cylindrical neck with concave sides and constriction at its base. Concave shoulder. Square straight-walled body with slight downward taper and curved transition to base. Base flat. Short wide angular handle with nine sharp combed ribs from shoulder to under rim. On underside of base, a mold-blown design of raised circles, consisting of a circle with a central knob in each corner and one halfway down each side framing four concentric circles in the center. CLASSIFICATION Isings 1957, Form 50 a

Label TextAlthough practical containers, the bottles displayed here have a subtle beauty which is enhanced by the vibrant blue and green glass used to make them. These bottles were formed using a technique called mold-blowing where a molten glass bubble was blown into a mold, forcing the bubble to conform to the mold’s shape. This technique allowed glass to be utilized as a medium for mass production by guaranteeing a standardization of shape, while at the same time giving the glassblower the option to add free-formed details such as handles.Published ReferencesHaberey, Waldemar, "Der Werkstoff Glas im Altertum," GLASTECHENIS BERICHTE, May 1958, repr. 191, fig. 20.

Grose, David, "Ancient Glass," Toledo Museum of Art Museum News, 20, 1978, repr. 81, fig. 17.

Grose, David, "The Origins and Early History of Glass," in D. Klein and W. Lloyd eds., The History of Glass, London, 1984, repr. 31.