Bottle in the Shape of a Bunch of Grapes

Place of OriginSyria, reportedly from Aleppo

Date150-200

DimensionsH: 5 1/2 in. (14 cm)

MediumGlass; blown in mold in shape of bunch of grapes.

ClassificationGlass

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

Object number

1951.373

Not on View

DescriptionA mold-blown glass flask in the naturalistic shape of a grape cluster. The body is formed from translucent manganese-colored (mulberry/purple) glass, blown into a two-part mold with a visible vertical seam. The vessel features a tall, free-blown cylindrical neck that terminates in a rim folded outward, upward, and inward. The body is covered in high-relief hemispherical bosses simulating individual grapes, with four smaller, distinct clusters modeled on the shoulder. The base is rounded and poorly flattened, rendering the vessel unstable without support. The surface exhibits weathering, iridescence, and incipient pitting.

Label TextThis bottle is blown in the shape of a luscious bunch of grapes, a symbol of Bacchus (Dionysus), the Roman god of wine and festivity. While the shape evokes wine, the narrow neck suggests this vessel was actually used to hold expensive perfumed oils (unguentaria). Produced in a two-part mold, this "handleless" type is characteristic of glass workshops in the Roman East (modern Syria and Lebanon), distinct from the two-handled versions made in Roman Europe. The "mulberry" purple color was achieved by adding manganese to the raw glass. It was purchased by the Museum in 1951 from Susette Khayat, a dealer known for bringing excavated glass from the Levant to the United States.Exhibition HistoryWorcester Art Museum; Cleveland Museum of Art; Baltimore Museum of Art, Antioch: the Lost Ancient City, 2000-2001.