Bulbous Bottle with One Handle

Place of OriginRoman Empire, Syria or Palestine

Date1st century

DimensionsH: 2 27/32 in. (7.2 cm); Rim Diam: 1 3/16 in. (3.1 cm); Diam: 1 13/16 in. (4.6 cm); Base Diam: 13/16 in. (2.1 cm)

MediumGlass; mold blown and tooled.

ClassificationGlass

Credit LineGift of Edward Drummond Libbey

Object number

1923.493

Not on View

DescriptionMade of translucent dark reddish manganese-colored glass, this small bottle features unintentional bluish green streaks in the rim and neck. It is formed from medium thin glass with numerous small spherical and pinprick bubbles in the body, and linear bubbles in the neck, three of which burst at the surface. The cylindrical neck was free blown and tapers slightly downward. The ovoid body was mold blown using a two-part mold composed of two vertical sections (MCT VIII). A single continuous mold seam runs across the base, which is uneven due to misaligned mold edges. The flat base lies in two planes. A coil handle, drawn thin and folded back, is attached from the shoulder to the top of the rim with a projecting loop above and is positioned near the mold seam. The rim is folded outward, upward, and inward. Decorative relief includes twenty-nine downturned contiguous flutes on the upper body and thirty upturned flutes on the lower body. These are joined by a central band of stylized tendril scrolls and dots, bordered by raised ridges above and below.

Published ReferencesStern, E. Marianne, Roman Mold-blown Glass: The First through Sixth Centuries, Rome, "L'Erma" di Bretschneider, 1995, p. 153-154, no. 58.

Arts, P.L.W., "A Collection of Ancient Glass 500 BC - 500 AD," ANTIEK Lochem, 2000, p. 103.