Melon-shaped Bottle with One Handle

Place of OriginEastern Mediterranean, probably Syria or Palestine

DateProbably second half of 1st century

DimensionsH: 3 3/16 in. (8.05 cm);
H body: 1 15/16 in. (4.9 cm);
Max Diam: 2 1/16 in. (5.25 cm);
Rim Diam: 1 1/8 in. (2.9 cm);
Base Diam: 1 7/16 in. (3.6 cm

MediumGlass; rim tooled, neck and body blown into a two-part mold of two vertical sections (MCT VIII C).

ClassificationGlass

Credit LineGift of Edward Drummond Libbey

Object number

1923.685

Not on View

DescriptionMelon-shaped bottle with one handle, made of translucent patchy manganese-colored glass with a translucent streaked grayish green handle. Medium thin glass; the fabric cannot be determined due to weathering. The rim is tooled and folded outward, upward, and inward. The neck and body were blown into a two-part mold of two vertical sections (MCT VIII C), with one continuous mold seam around the body and base that extends onto either side of the neck, following the line of the vertical ribs. The edges of the mold are not well aligned, and the tip of the handle is drawn out thin. The neck is concave with a slight bulge above the edge of the mold. The melon-shaped body rests on a circular flat base. A bifurcated handle is applied to the shoulder and attached to the rim with a projecting thumbrest above, centered over the mold seam. Around the body are seventeen vertical ribs, widest at the middle and tapering toward the ends.

Published ReferencesStern, E. Marianne, Roman Mold-blown Glass: the First through Sixth Centuries, "L'Erma" di Bretschneider in Association with the Toledo Museum of Art, Rome, Italy, 1995, no. 51, p. 149-150.