Bulbous Jar with Two Handles

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Bulbous Jar with Two Handles

Place of OriginAncient Rome

DateMid-fourth to mid-fifth century

DimensionsH: 2 3/4 in. (6.9 cm); Rim Diam: 2 3/8 in. (6.0 cm); Body Diam: 2 1/2 in. (6.4 cm)

MediumGlass; free-blown and tooled, decoration hot-tooled on.

ClassificationGlass

Credit LineGift of Edward Drummond Libbey

Object number

1923.1067

Not on View

DescriptionThis small bulbous jar was free-blown from medium thin glass. Small bubbles and visible blowing spirals are present, along with black specks in the thread. The glass is transparent natural grayish yellow-green (5 GY 7/2), while the applied handles and thread are translucent grayish blue-green (5 BG 5/2). The pontil mark measures approximately 1.0 cm in diameter and sits over a reamer mark. Excess glass at the tips of the handles has been folded up and back against the top of each handle. The jar has a rim that was rounded and thickened in the flame. The funnel-shaped neck curves gently into the sloping shoulder. Its bulbous body reaches its greatest diameter at the midpoint. The base is concave with a distinct kick. Two coil handles are applied to the upper body and attached to the side and top of the rim, where they are folded upward, outward, and inward to form a small closed loop. Decorative threadwork includes an irregular zigzag with twenty-six segments on the underside of the body, continuing above the midpoint as two spiral revolutions that partly overlap the zigzag. The rim also bears a zigzag with at least forty-eight segments, which is covered by three revolutions of thread. This vessel is classified as Jar Class I C 4 a with blue zigzags.