Spherical Bottle with Herringbone Pattern (Sprinkler)

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Spherical Bottle with Herringbone Pattern (Sprinkler)

Place of OriginRoman Empire, probably Syria or inland Palestine

Date3rd century

DimensionsH: 3 3/8 in. (8.5 cm); Rim Diam: 2 1/16 in. (5.2 cm); Body Diam: 2 1/4 in. (5.7 cm)

MediumGlass; mold-blown and tooled.

ClassificationGlass

Credit LineGift of Edward Drummond Libbey

Object number

1923.1341

Not on View

DescriptionThis bottle is made of medium thin glass that appears transparent natural pale green (5 G 7/2). The fabric cannot be determined because of weathering. The neck and mouth were free-blown, while the body was blown into a two-part mold with two vertical sections (MCT VIII). One continuous mold seam extends around the body and across the underside of the base. The edges of the mold are carefully aligned, although the relief is indistinct. There is no pontil mark. The glass was tooled. The rim is outsplayed at an angle and very thin at the edge, possibly left unworked, with a slight cutout near the edge. The flaring neck has a constriction at its base, where an interior cutout forms a diaphragm with an aperture of approximately 0.5 cm. The bottle has a spherical body and a convex base, so it cannot stand upright. The surface of the body is decorated with two horizontal herringbone motifs running to the right.

Published ReferencesStern, E. Marianne, Roman Mold-blown Glass: The First through Sixth Centuries, Rome, "L'Erma" di Bretschneider, 1995, p. 197, no. 132.