Hexagonal Bottle, Birds Type, Series A

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Hexagonal Bottle, Birds Type, Series A

Place of OriginProbably Phoenicia, perhaps Sidon area

DateProbably second quarter of first century

DimensionsH: 3 1/16 in. (7.7 cm); Max Diam: 1 5/8 in. (4.15 cm); Rim Diam: 7/8 in. (2.2 cm); Base Diam: 15/16 in. (2.45 cm)

MediumGlass; mold blown in a three-part mold, tooled.

ClassificationGlass

Credit LineGift of Edward Drummond Libbey

Object number

1923.437

Not on View

DescriptionOpaque white. Neck free blown. Body blown into a three-part mold of three vertical sections (MCT IV A). Mold seams between panels 6 and 1, 2 and 3, and 4 and 5 meet at center of underside of base. Relief moderately crisp. Edges of mold carefully aligned. Rim folded outward, upward, and inward. Cylindrical neck. Downward sloping shoulder and upward sloping bottom joined by a hexagonal body. Low, offset base with flat underside. On the shoulder, six downturned rays or pointed petals. On the body, six almost square panels, each topped with a triangular pediment, divided by ribs or posts; bordered below by a band with egg-and-dart pattern. Between the pediments, unidentified spherical objects. Each panel contains a bird or winged insect in a different pose perched on or flying over a pot-shaped nest or rock. In the panels, from left to right: 1, a bird with a long spoon-shaped bill (perhaps a swan ) to the right on a nest; 2, a simplified butterfly to the right grasping a rock(?) between its feet; 3, a bird (perhaps a falcon) to the left perched on an irregularly shaped rock; 4, a bird (perhaps an ibis) to the right perched on a pot; 5, a bird (a small raptor) with diagonally outspread wings flying to left over a rock or nest; and 6, a small songbird swooping down to left to feed invisible young in its nest. On the bottom, twenty-six upturned tongues. CLASSIFICATION: Bird Type, Series A1, Generation A1b Opaque white. Neck free blown. Body blown into a three-part mold of three vertical sections (MCT IV A). Mold seams between panels 6 and 1, 2 and 3, and 4 and 5 meet at center of underside of base. Relief moderately crisp. Edges of mold carefully aligned. Rim folded outward, upward, and inward. Cylindrical neck. Downward sloping shoulder and upward sloping bottom joined by a hexagonal body. Low, offset base with flat underside. On the shoulder, six downturned rays or pointed petals. On the body, six almost square panels, each topped with a triangular pediment, divided by ribs or posts; bordered below by a band with egg-and-dart pattern. Between the pediments, unidentified spherical objects. Each panel contains a bird or winged insect in a different pose perched on or flying over a pot-shaped nest or rock. In the panels, from left to right: 1, a bird with a long spoon-shaped bill (perhaps a swan ) to the right on a nest; 2, a simplified butterfly to the right grasping a rock(?) between its feet; 3, a bird (perhaps a falcon) to the left perched on an irregularly shaped rock; 4, a bird (perhaps an ibis) to the right perched on a pot; 5, a bird (a small raptor) with diagonally outspread wings flying to left over a rock or nest; and 6, a small songbird swooping down to left to feed invisible young in its nest. On the bottom, twenty-six upturned tongues. CLASSIFICATION Bird Type, Series A1, Generation A1b

Published ReferencesRichter, G.M.A., "The Curtis Collection of Ancient Glass," Art in America 2, 1914, p. 83, fig. 8.

Stern, 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. 45, pp. 142-144, color pl. 5 and 10, pp. 52 and 54.