Main Menu

Hexagonal Jug with Christian Symbols

Skip to main content
Collections Menu
Hexagonal Jug with Christian Symbols

Hexagonal Jug with Christian Symbols

Place of OriginReportedly from Syria
DateLate 6th- early 7th centuries CE
DimensionsH: 19.7 cm (7 3/4 in.); Rim Diam: 4.6 cm (1 13/16 in.); Body Diam: 5.6 cm (2 3/16 in.)
MediumTransparent decolorized glass with a greenish tinge; body blown into a two-part mold, mouth and neck free-blown.
ClassificationGlass
Credit LinePurchased with funds from the Libbey Endowment, Gift of Edward Drummond Libbey
Object number
1948.13
Not on View
DescriptionThis jug is made of thin, transparent decolorized glass with a greenish tint, though weathering makes the original hue uncertain. The body was blown into a two-part decorated mold with visible seams, and the neck and mouth were free-blown. Its circular rim is thickened in flame; the neck tapers into a concave shoulder, above a hexagonal body and kicked base. The coil handle, light green and complete with thumbrest, attaches above panel 5. A coil of excess glass encircles the neck. The six mold-blown panels feature: a cross fourchée beneath a circle-enclosed dot ; an ampulla with a vine or snake curling from it, flanked by small hanging elements; a stylized tree with nine branches; another stylized tree with ten and eleven branches on either side; a shrouded figure with a cross on the torso and another above the head—possibly a saint or Lazarus—accompanied by dots and zigzag wrappings; a lattice/net pattern.
Label TextThis hexagonal glass jug was likely made near Jerusalem or Antioch during the late sixth or early seventh century. Its six panels depict symbolic Christian imagery: a cross, a vine sprouting from a jar, stylized trees, and a hooded figure tightly wrapped and marked by crosses—possibly a saint or Lazarus. These jugs may have held sacred substances and served as pilgrimage souvenirs for visitors to sites like the monastery of St. Symeon Stylites. Despite age-related weathering, the mold-blown designs remain vivid. This piece illustrates how devotion, art, and commerce intertwined in Byzantine Syria.Published ReferencesRiefstahl, Rudolf M., "Ancient and Near Eastern Glass," Toledo Museum News, vol. 4, no. 2, Spring 1961, p. 41, repr. (Also pub. as Ancient and Near Eastern Glass).

Riefstahl, Rudolf M. "The Complexities of Ancient Glass," Apollo, vol. 86, no. 70, Dec. 1967, p. 434, repr.

Labino, Dominick, Visual Art in Glass, Dubuque, IA, 1968, p. 21, 24, repr.

The Toledo Museum of Art, Art in Glass: A Guide to the Glass Collections, Toledo, Ohio, 1969, p. 32, repr.

Philippe, Joseph, Le Mond Byzantin dans l'histoire de la verrerie, Bologna, 1970, p. 36, repr.

Gunther, Charles F. "How Glass is Made," Toledo Museum News, vol. 15, no. 1, repr. p. 16.

Grose, David, "Ancient Glass," Toledo Museum News, vol. 20, no. 3, 1978, p. 90, repr. fig. 33.

Engle, Anita, Ancient Glass in Its Context, (Readings in Glass History, no. 10), Jerusalem, 1978, p. 84, repr.

Vose, Ruth Hurst, "From the Dark Ages to the Fall of Constantinople," in The History of Glass, London, 1984, repr. (col.) p. 52.

Page, Jutta-Annette, The Art of Glass: Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo, OH, 2006, p. 52, repr. (col.) fig. 19B, p. 53.

Exhibition HistoryToledo Museum of Art, The Egypt Experience: Secrets of the Tomb, October 29, 2010-January 8, 2012.

Membership

Become a TMA member today

Membership

Support TMA

Help support the TMA mission

Support TMA