Cylindrical Box (Pyxis)
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for Cylindrical Box (Pyxis)
Cylindrical Box (Pyxis)
Place of OriginAncient Rome, Campania, Syria or Palestine
DateSecond half of the first century CE
DimensionsH: 2 1/8 in. (5.4 cm); Rim Diam: 2 3/16 in. (5.5 cm); Diam: 2 3/8 in. (6 cm); Base Diam: 2 3/8 in. (6 cm)
MediumGlass; mold blown and tooled.
ClassificationGlass
Credit LineGift of Edward Drummond Libbey
Object number
1923.488
Not on View
DescriptionThis cylindrical box, or pyxis, was mold-blown and tooled from opaque grayish purplish-blue glass. It is made from thin glass and formed in a three-part mold of two vertical sections joined to a disk-shaped base section that includes a horizontal ridge at the lower edge of the wall (MCT VII D). The mold seams extend from the rim to the ridge and are partly concealed within the decoration. The relief is crisp.
The unworked rim tops a cylindrical body with an inset and mold-blown ridge designed to support a lid. The flat base features four raised concentric circles surrounding a small central boss. Between the top and bottom ridges on the body is a continuous frieze of eight seven-leaf palmettes. These alternate in orientation: the upright palmettes have thick, outturned leaves, while the inverted ones show thinner leaves that curl outward. The detailing of the palmette hearts is especially elaborate.
Published ReferencesRichter, G. M. A., "The Curtis Collection of Ancient Glass," Art in America 2, 1914, p. 85, fig. 15 (it is not clear which of the two pyxides in the Curtis Collection was illustrated by Richter, 1923.442 or 1923.488).
Harden, D. B., "Romano-Syrian Glasses with Mould Blown Inscriptions," Journal of Roman Studies, vol. 25, 1935, p. 185, app. III, B, no. d.
Stern, E. Marianne, Roman Mold-blown Glass: The First through Sixth Centuries, Rome, "L'Erma" di Bretschneider, 1995, p. 171, no. 81, color pl. 15.
Second half of the first century CE
Second half of the first century CE
Probably second half of the first century
First half of the first century
Probably second to third quarter of first century
Second half of the 1st century CE
First half of first century
First half of first century
First half of first century
Probably second half of first century
Probably mid-first century
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