Cylindrical Jug with Three Pairs of Floral Sprays

Place of OriginSyria or Palestine, perhaps Sidon or vicinity

DateFirst half of the first century

DimensionsH: 3 13/16 in. (9.7 cm); Diam: 1 3/16 in. (3 cm)

MediumGlass; neck free blown. Body and lower part of neck blown into a four-part mold of three vertical sections joined to a cup-shaped base section (MCT I). Tip of handle drawn out thin.

ClassificationGlass

Credit LineGift of Edward Drummond Libbey

Object number

1923.482

Not on View

DescriptionTranslucent royal blue. Brownish green streak at rim. Medium thin glass. One very large elongated bubble in neck. Fabric cannot be determined because of weathering. Rim folded outward, upward, and inward. Cylindrical neck tapered slightly downward. Convex shoulder and convex bottom joined by a cylindrical body. Bifurcated handle applied to shoulder and attached to rim with projecting thumbrest above. Handle positioned above trefoil leaves in mold section 1. Decoration like 1923.440. On the underside of the flat base, three raised concentric rings surrounding a central dot, the outer ring forming a base ring 2.9 cm in diameter. Translucent royal blue. Brownish green streak at rim. Neck free blown. Body and lower part of neck blown into a four-part mold of three vertical sections joined to a cup-shaped base section (MCT I). Tip of handle drawn out thin. Rim folded outward, upward, and inward. Cylindrical neck tapered slightly downward. Convex shoulder and convex bottom joined by a cylindrical body. Bifurcated handle applied to shoulder and attached to rim with projecting thumbrest above. Handle positioned above trefoil leaves in mold section 1. Decoration like Cat. No. 75. On the underside of the flat base, three raised concentric rings surrounding a central dot, the outer ring forming a base ring 2.9 cm in diameter.

Published ReferencesPerhaps Harden, Donald B., "Two Tomb Groups of the First Century A.D. from Yahmour, Syria, and a Supplement to the List of Romano-Syrian Glasses with Mould-blown Inscriptions," Syria 24 (1944-45), 85, no. e; (it is not clear which of the two Toledo jugs is mentioned; although this one is blue, as described by Harden, the position of the handle does not agree with his description (see Cat. No. 75)).

Grose, David F., "Ancient Glass," TMA Museum News 20 (1978), 78, fig. 15, second from left.

Grose, David F., "Innovation and change in ancient technologies: The anomalous case of the Roman glass industry," in High-Technology Ceramics, Westerville, OH, 1986, p. 77, fig. 17, p. 78.

Stern, 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, cat. no. 76, p. 167-168, color plate 13, p. 55.