Octagonal Jug

Place of OriginAncient Rome, Eastern Mediteranean, Syria

DateSixth to seventh centuries

DimensionsH: 3 15/16 in. (10.1 cm); Rim Diam: 1 1/16 in. (2.7 cm); Body Diam: 1 7/8 in. (4.7 cm)

MediumGlass; mold-blown and tooled.

ClassificationGlass

Credit LineGift of Edward Drummond Libbey

Object number

1923.1356

Not on View

DescriptionTransparent natural green. Exact color cannot be determined because of weathering. Thin glass. Fabric cannot be determined because of weathering. Mouth and neck free blown. Body probably blown into a multipart mold with a base plate. Relief indistinct. Pontil mark ca. 1.25 cm in diameter. Excess glass at tip of handle continues into neck coil. Circular mouth, with unworked rim. Tubular neck. Horizontal shoulder. Octagonal body with downward taper. Kicked base. Curved coil handle applied to shoulder above a narrow panel and attached to middle of neck where it continues into neck coil. Neck coil continuing from handle around middle of neck from left to right. On the body, eight panels decorated with designs in sunken relief. On each of the four wide panels, lozenges; on each of the four narrow panels, a vertical column of four or five rectangles. On underside of base, an indistinct mold-blown (?) design.

Published ReferencesStern, E. Marianne, Roman Mold-blown Glass: The First through Sixth Centuries, Rome, "L'Erma" di Bretschneider, 1995, p. 264, no. 186.