Double Head-shaped Bottle: Possibly Dionysos and Satyr

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Double Head-shaped Bottle: Possibly Dionysos and Satyr

DatePerhaps second century

DimensionsH: 2 3/4 in. (7.0 cm); H (body): 1 1/2 in. (3.8 cm); Max Diam: 1 1/2 in. (3.8 cm); Rim Diam: 15/16 in. (2.4 cm); Base Diam (nose to nose): 1 1/8 in. (2.9 cm)

MediumRim and neck free blown. Body blown into a two-part mold of two vertical sections, each including one-half of the base (MCT VIII).

ClassificationGlass

Credit LineGift of Edward Drummond Libbey

Object number

1923.517

Not on View

DescriptionTransparent pale olive (10 Y 6/2) with green streak in neck. Medium thin glass. Blowing spirals. Vertically elongated bubbles in neck; oval bubbles in body. Continuous mold seam concealed in hair at junction of heads, extends across underside of base. Mold edges not well aligned. Relief moderately indistinct. No pontil mark. Horizontal rim, folded outward, upward, inward, and flattened. Tapering tubular neck, with constriction below middle. Body in the shape of a double head. Oval flat base. Body in the shape of two heads back to back: an idealized face, A, and a laughing male face, B. Face A is oval, broadest at the cheekbones, with hollow eyes, prominent cheekbones, narrow nose, straight lips slightly parted, and round chin. The hair sweeps back from the face horizontally; a symposiast's fillet, with two horseshoe-shaped loops rising from it, stretches across the forehead. Face B has small, deep-set hollow eyes, broad nose, pronounced cheeks, and a short V-shaped mouth fixed in a broad smile. The hair sweeps downward away from the face at a diagonal, except at the forehead where there are several full tufts of hair and two small bumps at the corners that probably represent horns. Transparent pale olive (10 Y 6/2) with green streak in neck. Rim and neck free blown. Body blown into a two-part mold of two vertical sections, each including one-half of the base (MCT VIII). Continuous mold seam concealed in hair at junction of heads, extends across underside of base. Mold edges not well aligned. Relief moderately indistinct. No pontil mark. Horizontal rim, folded outward, upward, inward, and flattened. Tapering tubular neck, with constriction below middle. Body in the shape of a double head. Oval flat base. Body in the shape of two heads back to back: an idealized face, A, and a laughing male face, B. Face A is oval, broadest at the cheekbones, with hollow eyes, prominent cheekbones, narrow nose, straight lips slightly parted, and round chin. The hair sweeps back from the face horizontally; a symposiastÕs fillet, with two horseshoe-shaped loops rising from it, stretches across the forehead. Face B has small, deep-set hollow eyes, broad nose, pronounced cheeks, and a short V-shaped mouth fixed in a broad smile. The hair sweeps downward away from the face at a diagonal, except at the forehead where there are several full tufts of hair and two small bumps at the corners that probably represent horns.

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, cat. no. 143, p. 224-225.