Double Head-shaped Flask: Two Similar Youthful Faces

Place of OriginEastern Mediterranean, possibly Syria or Palestine

DateThird century

DimensionsH: 3 1/4 in. (8.2 cm); H (Body): 2 in. (5.1 cm); Max Diam: 1 7/8 in. (4.7 cm); Rim Diam (seam to seam): 1 5/16 in. (3.3 cm); Base Diam: 1 1/2 in. (3.85 cm)

MediumRim and upper part of neck free blown. Lower part of neck and body blown into a two-part mold of two vertical sections, probably open at the base (MCT IX).

ClassificationGlass

Credit LineGift of Edward Drummond Libbey

Object number

1923.526

Not on View

DescriptionTransparent natural yellow green; exact color cannot be determined because of weathering. Medium thin glass. Fabric cannot be determined because of weathering. Mold seams concealed in hair at junction of heads. No mold seam on underside of base. Relief indistinct. No pontil mark. Horizontal rim, folded outward, upward, and inward. Tubular neck, upper part slightly crooked down to constriction marking top of mold. Body in the shape of a double head. Irregularly flattened diamond-shaped base with rounded corners. Body in the shape of two heads back to back with similar youthful features: prominent arched browline, large ring-shaped eyes with depressed centers, large nose, small mouth with straight lips slightly parted, and fat cheeks. The hair around both faces is rendered as circular knobs, sometimes joined to form wide ridges, arranged in three tiers framing the face to below chin level. Transparent natural yellow green; exact color cannot be determined because of weathering. Rim and upper part of neck free blown. Lower part of neck and body blown into a two-part mold of two vertical sections, probably open at the base (MCT IX). Mold seams concealed in hair at junction of heads. No mold seam on underside of base. Relief indistinct. No pontil mark. Horizontal rim, folded outward, upward, and inward. Tubular neck, upper part slightly crooked down to constriction marking top of mold. Body in the shape of a double head. Irregularly flattened diamond-shaped base with rounded corners. Body in the shape of two heads back to back with similar youthful features: prominent arched browline, large ring-shaped eyes with depressed centers, large nose, small mouth with straight lips slightly parted, and fat cheeks. The hair around both faces is rendered as circular knobs, sometimes joined to form wide ridges, arranged in three tiers framing the face to below chin level.

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. 154, p. 236.

Arts, P.L.W., "A Collection of Ancient Glass 500 BC - 500 AD," ANTIEK Lochem, 2000, p. 112.