Spherical Flask with Collar at Shoulder

Place of OriginAncient Rome, Eastern Mediteranean, Syria or Palestine

DateProbably second century

DimensionsH: 4 7/16 in. (11.3 cm);
H Body: 3 1/8 in. (8.0 cm);
Max Diam: 3 1/8 in. (8 cm);
Diam Rim: 1 15/16 in. (5.0 cm);
Diam Base: 1 9/16 in. (3.9 cm)

MediumMedium thin glass. Free and mold blown.

ClassificationGlass

Credit LineGift of Edward Drummond Libbey

Object number

1923.889

Not on View

DescriptionThis flask is made of medium-thin glass in a transparent very pale light brownish gray hue (5 YR 6/1) with darker manganese-colored swirls, showing that the glass was not well mixed. Small diagonally elongated bubbles are visible in the neck. The neck and mouth were free-blown, while the body was blown into a four-part mold consisting of three vertical sections joined to a disk-shaped base section (MCT III). The relief is crisp, and there is no pontil mark. The rim is rounded in the flame. The neck is funnel-shaped with a constriction at its base. The shoulder slopes to a horizontal edge above a shoulder collar. The spherical body curves down to a vertical edge above a slightly concave base. The body features a sunken relief design of nine interlocking circles, each with a dot in the center, bordered above and below by a double row of dots. The underside of the base shows a raised circle surrounding a small central knob.

Published ReferencesStern, 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, no. 117, p. 189, color pl. 18, p. 57.