Hexagonal Bottle, Mixed Symbols Type, Series A

Place of OriginAncient Rome, probably Phoenicia, maybe Sidon, Galilee

DateProbably second quarter to mid-first century

DimensionsH: 3 7/16 in. (8.68 cm); Rim Diam: 15/16 in. (2.45 cm); Diam: 1 9/16 in. (3.95 cm); Base Diam: 15/16 in. (2.4 cm)

MediumGlass

ClassificationGlass

Credit LineGift of Edward Drummond Libbey

Object number

1923.463

Not on View

DescriptionTranslucent dark blue. Medium thick glass. Thick base. Neck and shoulder free blown. Body blown into a three-part mold of two vertical sections joined to a cup-shaped base section that formed the base and tongues around the bottom (MCT V A), Vertical mold seams perhaps between panels 6 and 1 and panels 3 and 4 (see Remarks 1923.464). Relief indistinct. Mold sections exceptionally well aligned. Dot-shaped punch marks around outlines of relief. Three concentric rings of circular chill marks on underside of base. Rim folded outward, upward, and inward. Cylindrical neck with curved transition to shoulder. Round circular shoulder and short upward-sloping circular bottom joined by a hexagonal body. Flat base with central small recessed cylindrical cavity with a tiny round bump in center. Shoulder undecorated. On the body, six rectangular panels; each panel contains a different object. In the panels, from left to right: 1, a wreath, or crown, of olive leaves; 2, a footed amphora with globular body and two high handles; 3, a convex, circular object with flat edge (a patera or tympanon); 4, a shepherd's crook; 5, a spouted, footed jug with a high handle to the left; and 6, a conical boss with ten radiate markings. Around the bottom, twenty-five upturned tongues. CLASSIFICATION: Mixed Type, Series A1, Generation A1b-yy. Translucent dark blue. Neck and shoulder free blown. Body blown into a three-part mold of two vertical sections joined to a cup-shaped base section that formed the base and tongues around the bottom (MCT V A), Vertical mold seams perhaps between panels 6 and 1 and panels 3 and 4 (see Remarks Cat. No. 43). Relief indistinct. Mold sections exceptionally well aligned. Dot-shaped punch marks around outlines of relief. Three concentric rings of circular chill marks on underside of base. Rim folded outward, upward, and inward. Cylindrical neck with curved transition to shoulder. Round circular shoulder and short upward-sloping circular bottom joined by a hexagonal body. Flat base with central small recessed cylindrical cavity with a tiny round bump in center. Shoulder undecorated. On the body, six rectangular panels; each panel contains a different object. In the panels, from left to right: 1, a wreath, or crown, of olive leaves; 2, a footed amphora with globular body and two high handles; 3, a convex, circular object with flat edge (a patera or tympanon); 4, a shepherdÕs crook; 5, a spouted, footed jug with a high handle to the left; and 6, a conical boss with ten radiate markings. Around the bottom, twenty-five upturned tongues. CLASSIFICATION Mixed Type, Series A1, Generation A1bÐyy

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. 44, pp. 141-142, color pl. 9, p. 54.