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

DescriptionThis cylindrical jug, classified as Vessels Type with floral decoration, was made from medium thin, translucent royal blue glass with a brownish green streak at the rim. The fabric cannot be determined due to weathering. A very large elongated bubble is visible in the neck. The neck was free blown, while the body and lower neck were formed in a four-part mold consisting of three vertical sections joined to a cup-shaped base section (MCT I). The tip of the handle is drawn out thin. The vessel features a flaring rim folded outward, upward, and inward, a cylindrical neck that tapers slightly downward, and a body with a convex shoulder and convex bottom joined by a cylindrical profile. A bifurcated handle was applied to the shoulder and attached to the rim, with a projecting thumbrest above. The handle aligns with a motif of trefoil leaves in mold section 1. The decorative scheme is comparable to that of 1923.440. On the underside of the flat base, three raised concentric rings surround a central dot, with the outer ring forming a base ring measuring 2.9 cm in diameter. The jug belongs to the same series as 1923.440, but was made using a mold with a slightly smaller base section.

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.