Hexagonal Jug

Place of OriginEastern Mediterranean, possibly Syria

DateProbably 6th century

DimensionsH: 4 3/8 in. (11.2 cm); Diam (rim): 1 15/16 in. (4.9 cm); Diam (body): 1 13/16 in. (4.6 cm); W base: 1 5/8 in. (4.2 cm)

MediumMold blown; tooled; applied handle; thin glass.

ClassificationGlass

Credit LineGift of Edward Drummond Libbey

Object number

1923.1343

Not on View

DescriptionThis hexagonal jug is made from thin, transparent brownish yellow glass (near 5 Y 5/6) with a similarly colored hollow, possibly tubular handle. The glass has visible blowing spirals and a few small bubbles that are vertically elongated in the neck and spherical in the body. The mouth and neck were free-blown, while the body was likely blown into a multipart mold with a base plate. The relief decoration remains moderately crisp. A pontil mark measuring about 1.1 cm is visible on the base, and excess glass at the tip of the handle was drawn out thin against the handle. The jug has a spouted mouth with a rim folded outward, upward, and inward. It has a tubular neck that transitions to a slightly sloped shoulder and a hexagonal body with a kicked base. A curved coil handle is attached above the first panel on the shoulder and secured to the edge of the rim, with a pinched thumbrest located about 2 cm from the rim. Each of the six panels on the body is decorated in sunken relief and bordered by dots. The designs include: a lattice pattern; a floral pattern composed of dots; two stylized palm branches with curved or straight leaves; an irregular dotted floral motif; and a chevron pattern with five vertical columns of nineteen dots. The underside of the base has six radiating double lines surrounded by dots in the spaces between.

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. 185, pp. 263-264.