Hexagonal Jar with Christian Symbols

Place of OriginPalestine, probably made in the vicinity of Jerusalem

Dateabout 578-614

DimensionsH: 3 5/8 in. (9.1 cm); Diam (rim): 2 in. (5.1 cm); Diam (body): 2 13/16 in. (7.1 cm); W Base: 2 1/2 in. (6.3 cm)

MediumMold blown. Medium thin glass.

ClassificationGlass

Credit LinePurchased with funds from the Libbey Endowment, Gift of Edward Drummond Libbey

Object number

1936.12

Not on View

DescriptionTransparent to translucent dark brownish yellow. Medium thin glass. Fabric cannot be determined because of weathering. Rim and neck free blown. Body blown into a mold with designs in low relief on the interior. Mold seams cannot be detected. Relief moderately crisp. Off-center pontil mark ca. 1.2 cm in diameter. Funnel mouth, with rim folded outward, upward, inward, and downward to narrowest point of opening. Shoulder gently sloped. Hexagonal body. Base slightly concave. On the body, six decorated rectangular panels with designs in intaglio; each panel bordered by recessed dots. In the panels, from left to right: 1, cross fourchée above three steps, with the base of the cross forming a fourth step; 2, two concentric lozenges within which is a short horizontal line with a dot above and below and a recessed dot in each corner of the panel; 3, cross fourchée similar to that in panel 1, but with a bulbous base rising from the center of two concentric circles rendered in perspective so that the interior circle appears as a crescent; 4, two concentric lozenges with a single recessed dot in the center and a recessed dot in each corner of the panel; 5, cross with arms of equal length, with a short perpendicular element at the end of each arm standing on an indistinct base which may be a tree trunk with leaves extending upward; 6, two concentric lozenges with four recessed dots in the center and a recessed dot in each corner of the panel. CLASSIFICATION:: Barag A II 2. Transparent to translucent dark brownish yellow.

Published ReferencesBarag, Dan P., "Glass Pilgrim Vessels from Jerusalem, Pts. I," Journal of Glass Studies 12 (1970), p. 55 (A II 2) 58, fig. 1.

Stern, 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. 170, pp. 254-255.