Pentagonal Jug

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Pentagonal Jug

Place of OriginEastern Mediterranean, probably Syria

Date6th to early 7th century

DimensionsH: 8 1/2 in. (21.6 cm); Diam (rim): 2 9/16 in. (6.5 cm); Diam (body): 3 5/8 in. (9.2 cm); W Base: 2 11/16 in. (6.8 cm)

MediumMold blown; applied decoration and handle. Medium thin glass.

ClassificationGlass

Credit LineGift of Edward Drummond Libbey

Object number

1923.1351

Not on View

DescriptionThis jug is made from medium thin glass in a transparent natural pale green color (near 5 G 7/2), with a similarly colored thread and a translucent yellowish green handle. Small and medium vertically elongated bubbles are visible in the neck. Blowing spirals and tool marks are also present. The mouth and neck were free blown, while the body was probably blown into a multi-part mold with a base plate, producing crisp relief patterns. The pontil mark measures about 1.6 cm in diameter, and excess glass at the tip of the handle was folded back before the handle was pinched. The jug has a circular mouth with the rim folded outward, upward, and inward. The tubular neck slopes into a slightly sloped shoulder. The pentagonal body tapers downward to a kicked base, which is decorated on the underside with a rosette of five petals in sunken relief. A curved coil handle is applied to the shoulder over the neck coil above panel 3 and attached to the edge of the rim, where it is folded downward, inward, upward, and outward to form a closed loop. Around the lower half of the neck, four revolutions of thread are trailed downward from left to right. The five rectangular panels show designs in sunken relief: panels 1 and 4 display lozenges with circles; panels 2 and 4 show lattice patterns; and panels 3 and 5 show stylized palm branches.

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. 183, p. 262-263, color pl. 29, p. 63.