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Jar (Amphoriskos)

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Jar (Amphoriskos)

Place of OriginEastern Mediterranean, possibly from Rhodes, Greece
DateLate sixth through fifth centuries BCE
DimensionsH: 11.4 cm (4 1/2 in.)
Mediumglass
ClassificationGlass
Credit LineGift of Edward Drummond Libbey
Object number
1923.153
Not on View
DescriptionThis small jar, or amphoriskos, has an opaque white ground with decoration in purple glass. It features a broad, inward-sloping rim-disk and a rather tall cylindrical neck that tapers slightly upward, joining an obtuse-angled shoulder. The tall, conical body rests on a circular base-knob with a rounded edge, made of the same opaque white glass as the vessel. Two vertical strap handles, also opaque white, extend from the shoulder to the top of the neck. A purple thread, unmarvered, is attached at the edge of the rim-disk. A second purple thread, marvered, begins on the shoulder and is wound in a spiral: first in uneven horizontal lines, then tooled into a zigzag pattern that extends from the widest point of the body to just above the base-knob. Tooling marks are visible on the upperside of the rim-disk and on the neck. Vertical indentations on the body were caused by the tooling of the zigzag decoration. The vessel was formed around a core and finished with applied elements: the rim-disk, handles, and base-knob. Both marvered and unmarvered threads were applied and tooled into place.
Published ReferencesGrose, David F., Early Ancient Glass: Core-formed, Rod-Formed, and Cast Vessels and Objects from the Late Bronze Age to the Early Roman Empire, 1600 B.c. to A.d. 50, New York, Hudson Hills Press in association with the Toledo Museum of Art, 1989, Cat. No. 95, p. 143, Repr. (col.) p. 96.

Page, Jutta-Annette, The Art of Glass: Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo, Ohio, Toledo Museum of Art, 2006, p. 22, repr. (col.) fig. 3A, p. 23.

Unguent Bottle (Amphoriskos)
5th through early 4th centuries BCE
Unguent Bottle (Amphoriskos)
Late sixth through fifth centuries BCE
Unguent Bottle (Amphoriskos)
Late sixth through fifth centuries BCE
Unguent Bottle (Amphoriskos)
Late sixth to fifth centuries BCE
Unguent Bottle (Amphoriskos)
Late sixth through fifth centuries BCE
Unguent Bottle (Amphoriskos)
Late 6th - 5th century BCE

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