Double Head-shaped Flask: Two Similar Medusas with Wavy Hair

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Double Head-shaped Flask: Two Similar Medusas with Wavy Hair

Place of OriginProbably Near Eastern

DateProbably late third or fourth century

DimensionsH: 3 5/16 in. (8.4 cm); H (body): 1 13/16 in. (4.7 cm); Max Diam: 1 7/8 in. (4.7 cm);
Rim Diam: 1 1/4 in. (3.2 cm); Base Diam: 1 7/16 in. (3.65 cm)

MediumRim and neck free blown. 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

1923.516

Not on View

DescriptionTransparent pale blue (near 5 PB 5/2), with darker grayish blue areas (near 5 PB 5/2). Medium thin glass. Mold seams concealed in hair at junction of heads. No mold seam on underside of base. Relief moderately crisp. No pontil mark. Flaring hollow rim, folded outward, upward, and inward. Tubular neck tapering downward, with constriction near its base marking top of mold. Body in the shape of a double head. Slightly oval flat base. Body in the shape of two heads of Medusa back to back with similar features: arched browline, narrow nose, knobby cheeks, thin lips, broad round chin, and an indistinct roll under the jawline representing the knotted snakes of Medusa. The hair around both faces is carefully arranged in irregular locks rendered as wavy lines, generally in a vertical orientation, framing the face to below chin level. Two locks are arranged like pincers over the center of each forehead. Along the right cheek of both faces a few locks curve down to the cheek at an angle. Face A is narrow and more square, with stronger differentiation between chin and neck than face B. Transparent pale blue (near 5 PB 5/2), with darker grayish blue areas (near 5 PB 5/2). Rim and neck free blown. 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 moderately crisp. No pontil mark. Flaring hollow rim, folded outward, upward, and inward. Tubular neck tapering downward, with constriction near its base marking top of mold. Body in the shape of a double head. Slightly oval flat base. Body in the shape of two heads of Medusa back to back with similar features: arched browline, narrow nose, knobby cheeks, thin lips, broad round chin, and an indistinct roll under the jawline representing the knotted snakes of Medusa. The hair around both faces is carefully arranged in irregular locks rendered as wavy lines, generally in a vertical orientation, framing the face to below chin level. Two locks are arranged like pincers over the center of each forehead. Along the right cheek of both faces a few locks curve down to the cheek at an angle. Face A is narrow and more square, with stronger differentiation between chin and neck than face B.

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. 158, pp. 238-239, color plate 24, p. 62.