Hexagonal Bottle, Vessels Type, Series A

Image Not Available

Hexagonal Bottle, Vessels Type, Series A

Place of OriginRoman Empire, Phoenicia

DateProbably mid-first century

DimensionsH: 3 3/8 in. (8.6 cm); Body H: 1 15/16 in. (4.85 cm); Rim Diam: 1 in. (2.5 cm); Diam: 1 9/16 in. (4 cm); Base Diam: 7/8 in. (2.2 cm)

MediumGlass; mold blown and tooled.

ClassificationGlass

Credit LineGift of Edward Drummond Libbey

Object number

1923.478

Not on View

DescriptionThis mold-blown and tooled vessel, classified as Vessels Type, Series A, Generation A1c, is made of translucent to opaque glass in patchy pale bluish gray. The fabric is medium thin with linear bubbles visible in the neck. The neck was formed by free blowing, and the body was shaped in a three-part mold of three vertical sections (MCT IV). Mold seams meet at the center of the underside of the base. Relief is indistinct, and vertical crimps at the base of the neck suggest use of a tool during finishing. The bottle has a flaring rim folded outward, upward, and inward, a cylindrical neck, and an ovoid body that tapers to a low, offset base with a flat underside. The decorative scheme parallels that of 1923.476, including six rounded arches on the shoulder, each containing a smooth ovoid object, and six rectangular panels divided by simplified columns. These panels each feature a distinct vessel, such as jugs with high handles or spouts, bowls with handles and rounded contents, and jars with small vertical handles. Between the panels, triangular leaves and irregularly shaped fruits are arranged beneath each column.

Published ReferencesStern, E. Marianne, Roman Mold-Blown Glass: The First Through Sixth Centuries, Rome, Italy, "L'Erma" di Bretschneider in association with the Toledo Museum of Art, 1995, cat. no. 24, p. 122.

Arts, P.L.W., "A Collection of Ancient Glass 500 BC - 500 AD," ANTIEK Lochem, 2000, p. 103.