Date-shaped Bottle

Place of OriginPhoenicia

DateMid-first to early second century

DimensionsH: 2 13/16 in. (7.2 cm); Rim Diam: 3/4 in. (1.9 cm); Body Diam: 1 in. (2.54 cm)

MediumGlass; mold blown, tooled

ClassificationGlass

Credit LineGift of Edward Drummond Libbey

Object number

1923.570

On View

Toledo Museum of Art (2445 Monroe Street), Gallery, 02, Classic

DescriptionThis small glass vessel is shaped like a dried date and decorated with wavy ridges to imitate the fruit’s wrinkled skin. It was made by blowing molten glass into a mold formed from three vertical sections. The seams from the mold are hidden in the pattern. The rim is thick and rounded, with a short flaring neck. The bottle’s cross section is nearly triangular.

Label TextThe date palm tree was one of the prized plants of the Mediterranean world as its fruit was so useful and delicious—even the pits were used for fuel. First made in the Roman Imperial period, glass vessels in the shape of dried dates were incredibly popular for holding perfume or medicines. Most likely, a real dried fruit was used to make a mold of clay or plaster and then glass was blown into the mold to create the vessel. The neck and rim would have been tooled and added to the body. These objects were often included in burials as personal items for the deceased.Published ReferencesHayes, John W., Roman and Pre-Roman Glass in the Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, 1975, nos. 87-89 (three close parallels dated to "Late 1st-Late 2nd century A.D.").

Stern, E. Marianne, Roman Mold-blown Glass: The First through Sixth Centuries, Rome, "L'Erma" di Bretschneider, 1995, p. 179, no. 107.