Melon-shaped Bottle with One Handle
Melon-shaped Bottle with One Handle
Place of OriginEastern Mediterranean, probably Syria or Palestine
DateProbably second half of the first century
DimensionsH (with handle): 2 13/16 in. (7.2 cm); Diam: 15/16 in. (2.3 cm)
MediumGlass; mold blown in a two-part mold, tooled.
ClassificationGlass
Credit LineGift of Edward Drummond Libbey
Object number
1923.684
Not on View
DescriptionMelon-shaped bottle with one handle, made of translucent manganese-colored glass with a similarly colored handle. Medium thin glass with a few small spherical bubbles in the neck and one large vertically elongated bubble near the handle. The neck and body were blown into a two-part vertical mold (MCT VIII C) with a continuous mold seam that extends around the body and base and continues along either side of the neck, following the line of the vertical ribs. The edges of the mold are not well aligned. The rim is partly folded outward, upward, and inward, creating an area of extreme overlap. The cylindrical neck leads to a melon-shaped body with a circular flat base. A bifurcated handle was applied to the shoulder and attached to the rim with a projecting thumbrest above, positioned adjacent to the mold seam. Around the body are twenty-two vertical ribs that are widest at the middle and taper toward the ends.
Published ReferencesStern, E. Marianne, Roman Mold-blown Glass: The First through Sixth Centuries, Rome, "L'Erma" di Bretschneider, 1995, p. 149, no. 50.
Probably second half of 1st century
Probably mid- or third quarter of the first century
Second half of the first century CE
Probably second quarter of the first century
Probably second quarter of the first century
Probably second quarter of the first century
Probably second half of the first century
Second half of first century CE
Probably second half of the first century
Probably 19th or early 20th century
First half of the first century
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