Bulbous Bottle with Two Handles

Place of OriginRoman Empire, Syria or Palestine

DateProbably second half of the 1st century

DimensionsH: 2 15/16 in. (7.4 cm);
H (body): 2 3/16 in. (5.5 cm);
Max Diam: 1 15/16 in. (4.85 cm);
Rim Diam: 15/16 in. (2.35 cm);
Base Diam: 1 in. (2.6 cm)

MediumGlass; blown, tooled

ClassificationGlass

Credit LineGift of Edward Drummond Libbey

Object number

1923.681

Not on View

DescriptionBulbous bottle with two handles made of translucent dark purplish blue glass, with one similarly colored streaked handle and one translucent manganese-colored handle. Small spherical bubbles are present. The cylindrical neck is free-blown while the ovoid body was blown into a three-part mold consisting of two vertical sections joined to a cup-shaped base section (MCT V D); the vertical mold sections were not carefully aligned. The rim is folded outward, upward, and inward. The flat base shows the mold seams. Two coil handles were applied to the shoulder and attached just below the rim, positioned next to the mold seams. Decorative friezes on the body feature twenty-one downturned tongues in raised outline on the upper body and twenty-three similar upturned tongues on the lower body, joined by a central band of contiguous lozenges (X’s or net pattern) in raised outline with thickened intersection points, bordered by a groove and raised ridges above and below.

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. 53, p. 150-151.