Hexagonal Jug with Dionysiac Symbols

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Hexagonal Jug with Dionysiac Symbols

Place of OriginSyria or Palestine, Sidon or Galilee

DateProbably second quarter of the first century

DimensionsH: 3 3/4 in. (9.5 cm); Rim Diam: 1 1/8 in. (2.8 cm); Diam: 2 1/16 in. (5.3 cm); Base Diam: 1 1/8 in. (2.8 cm)

MediumGlass; mold blown and tooled.

ClassificationGlass

Credit LineGift of Edward Drummond Libbey

Object number

1923.487

Not on View

DescriptionTranslucent to transparent light grayish blue. Similarly colored handle. Thin glass. Fabric cannot be determined because of weathering. Neck free blown. Body blown into a multipart mold of two vertical sections, each including one-half of the shoulder, joined to a cup-shaped base section which included the fluted area around the bottom (MCT V). Mold seams concealed within the decoration. Tip of handle drawn out thin. Rim folded outward, upward, and inward. Tall cylindrical neck. Convex shoulder and convex bottom joined by a hexagonal body. Flat base with two raised concentric circles around a central knob on the underside. Bifurcated handle applied to shoulder and attached to rim with projecting thumbrest above. Handle positioned above panel 3. On the shoulder and the lower part of neck, a frieze of twenty-two thick ribs. On the body, six rectangular panels, each containing a Dionysiac symbol. In the panels, from left to right: 1, crossed double-ended thyrsoi over a raised knob; 2, a footed jug with a spout to the left and a high handle to the right; 3, a footed amphora with high handles; 4, a syrinx (pan pipes) with six reeds of the same length and two narrow crossbindings; 5, a circular object decorated with concentric rings (probably a phiale); and 6, a footed crater with high handles. Around the bottom, a frieze of twenty-four upturned tongues in raised outline. Translucent to transparent light grayish blue. Similarly colored handle. Neck free blown. Body blown into a multipart mold of two vertical sections, each including one-half of the shoulder, joined to a cup-shaped base section which included the fluted area around the bottom (MCT V C). Mold seams concealed within the decoration. Tip of handle drawn out thin. Rim folded outward, upward, and inward. Tall cylindrical neck. Convex shoulder and convex bottom joined by a hexagonal body. Flat base with two raised concentric circles around a central knob on the underside. Bifurcated handle applied to shoulder and attached to rim with projecting thumbrest above. Handle positioned above panel 3. On the shoulder and the lower part of neck, a frieze of twenty-two thick ribs. On the body, six rectangular panels, each containing a Dionysiac symbol. In the panels, from left to right: 1, crossed double-ended thyrsoi over a raised knob; 2, a footed jug with a spout to the left and a high handle to the right; 3, a footed amphora with high handles; 4, a syrinx (pan pipes) with six reeds of the same length and two narrow crossbindings; 5, a circular object decorated with concentric rings (probably a phiale); and 6, a footed crater with high handles. Around the bottom, a frieze of twenty-four upturned tongues in raised outline.

Published ReferencesStern, E. Marianne, Roman Mold-blown Glass: The First through Sixth Centuries, Rome, "L'Erma" di Bretschneider, 1995, p. 164-165, no. 72.