Hexagonal Jug with Christian Symbols

Place of OriginAncient Rome, Eastern Mediterranean, probably Syria

DateFifth to seventh centuries

DimensionsH: 7 15/16 in. (20.1 cm); Rim Diam: 2 3/8 in. (6 cm); Body Diam: 2 5/8 in. (6.6 cm)

MediumGlass; mold blown, tooled, applied handle.

ClassificationGlass

Credit LineGift of Edward Drummond Libbey

Object number

1923.1352

Not on View

DescriptionThin glass. Blowing spirals. Numerous vertically elongated bubbles in neck and body. Transparent decolorized glass. Exact color cannot be determined because of weathering. Mouth and neck free blown. Body probably blown into a multipart mold. Mold seams cannot be detected. Relief crisp. Pontil mark ca. 1.4 cm in diameter. Excess glass at tip of handle drawn back against top of handle. Spouted mouth, with rim rounded and thickened in flame. Tapering neck. Horizontal shoulder. Hexagonal body. Kicked base. Curved coil handle applied to shoulder above panel three and attached to edge of rim where it is folded downward/inward and upward/outward to form a closed loop. On the body, six panels decorated with designs in low relief. In the panels, from left to right: 1, cross fourchee above a rectangular element (column?, altar?) decorated with a zigzag and dots in the spaces, below this a thick raised horizontal border(?); 2, stylized palm branch with twelve leaves on the left side and eleven on the right; 3, lattice pattern of seven lozenges with a dot in the center of each; 4, human figure (Stylite saint?) wearing a hood and holding a quartered circle (shield? wheel with four spokes?), the lower part of the figure consisting of three thick parallel vertical lines, possibly representing the column on which the saint perched; 5, same as panel 3; 6, stylized palm branch with ten leaves on one side and twelve on the other. On the handle, a series of horizontal tool marks along length of handle. Underside of base undecorated.

Published ReferencesJoseph Philippe, , Bologna, 1970, pp. 34, 35, ill.

Stern, E. Marianne, Roman Mold-blown Glass: The First through Sixth Centuries, Rome, "L'Erma" di Bretschneider, 1995, p. 265-266, no. 189.

Yoshimizu, Tsuneo, The Survey of Glass in the World, Tokyo, 1992, vol. 1, fig. 249, p. 125 (col.).

Exhibition HistoryThe Dayton Art Institute, The Roman World: Religions and Everyday Life (featuring the Brooklyn Museum exhibition: Tree of Paradise: Jewish Mosaics from the Roman Empire), September 21, 2007 - January 6, 2008 (no catalogue).