Double Head-shaped Flask: Two Similar Male Heads, Probably Hercules Wearing a Lion's-Head Helmet

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Double Head-shaped Flask: Two Similar Male Heads, Probably Hercules Wearing a Lion's-Head Helmet

Date3rd or 4th century

DimensionsH: 3 7/8 in. (9.9 cm); Rim Diam: 1 15/16 in. (5 cm); Diam: 2 1/8 in. (5.4 cm); Base Diam: 1 5/8 in. (4.2 cm)

MediumGlass; mold blown and fused.

ClassificationGlass

Credit LineGift of Edward Drummond Libbey

Object number

1923.741

Not on View

DescriptionTransparent manganese colored pale red purple (near 5 RP 6/2). Thick glass. Fabric cannot be determined because of weathering. Rim and upper portion of neck free blown. Body and perhaps lower part of neck blown into a two-part mold of two vertical sections, probably open at the base (probably MCT IX). Mold seams through helmets at junction of heads. No mold seam on underside of base. Relief indistinct. No pontil mark. Flaring rim, irregularly folded outward, upward, and inward. Tubular neck, with constriction at middle probably marking top of mold. Body in the shape of a double head. Oval concave base. Body in the shape of two male heads back to back with similar, although indistinct, features: rectangular face, deep sunken eyes, and broad flat nose. Close-fitting bands with small circular depressions above the forehead suggest stylized lion's teeth; large circular bulges at either end of the row of teeth suggest lion's fangs. Irregular oval bulges above the band of teeth may represent lion's nostrils and cheeks; they are more pronounced above face A. Jagged lines framing the lower part of the face may represent a curly beard or a lion's lower jaw. Transparent manganese colored pale red purple (near 5 RP 6/2).

Published ReferencesStern, E. Marianne, Roman Mold-blown Glass: The First through Sixth Centuries, Rome, "L'Erma" di Bretschneider, 1995, p. 239-240, no. 159.