Cylindrical Jug with Three Pairs of Floral Sprays

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Cylindrical Jug with Three Pairs of Floral Sprays

Place of OriginPossibly Syria or Palestine

DateFirst half of the 1st century

DimensionsH: 3 1/8 in. (8 cm); Diam: 7/8 in. (2.2 cm)

MediumGlass; mold blown, tooled.

ClassificationGlass

Credit LineGift of Edward Drummond Libbey

Object number

1923.438

Not on View

DescriptionThis cylindrical jug (Glass; Cylindrical Jug with Three Pairs of Floral Sprays) was mold-blown in opaque pale blue glass (near 5 B 6/2). 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 (MCT I). The rim is folded outward, upward, and inward. The jug has a cylindrical neck, convex shoulder, and convex bottom with a flat base. The base underside features a circular channel between the base ring (2.6 cm diameter) and a central disk (1.4 cm diameter), bordered by a shallow narrow groove located 0.1 cm from the edge. The bifurcated handle, positioned over the seam between mold sections 1 and 2, was applied to the shoulder and attached to the rim with a projecting thumbrest. It has two attachment points on the shoulder and splits toward the thumbrest. The tip of the handle was drawn out thin. A frieze of twenty-seven downturned flutes decorates the lower neck and shoulder. On the body are three horizontally arranged pairs of floral sprays, placed tip to tip: mold section 1 displays trefoil leaves (ivy) and triple fruit, while sections 2 and 3 alternate trefoil leaves with single and triple fruit motifs. A frieze of twenty-nine upturned flutes encircles the bottom.

Published ReferencesStern, E. Marianne, Roman Mold-blown Glass: The First through Sixth Centuries, Rome, "L'Erma" di Bretschneider, 1995, p. 168-169. no. 77.