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

DescriptionTransparent very pale light brownish gray (5 YR 6/1) with darker manganese colored swirls (glass not well mixed). Small diagonally elongated bubbles in neck. Neck and mouth free blown. Body blown into a four-part mold of three vertical sections joined to a disk-shaped base section (MCT III). Relief crisp. No pontil mark. Rim rounded in flame. Funnel neck, with constriction at its base. Shoulder sloping to horizontal edge above shoulder collar. Spherical body with walls curving down to vertical edge above slightly concave base. On the body, sunken relief design of nine interlocking circles with a dot in the center of each, bordered above and below by a double row of dots. On underside of base, a raised circle around a small central knob. Transparent very pale light brownish gray (5 YR 6/1) with darker manganese colored swirls (glass not well mixed). Neck and mouth free blown. Body blown into a four-part mold of three vertical sections joined to a disk-shaped base section (MCT III). Relief crisp. No pontil mark. Rim rounded in flame. Funnel neck, with constriction at its base. Shoulder sloping to horizontal edge above shoulder collar. Spherical body with walls curving down to vertical edge above slightly concave base. On the body, sunken relief design of nine interlocking circles with a dot in the center of each, bordered above and below by a double row of dots. On underside of base, a raised circle around 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.