Cremation Urn with Lid (Olla Ossuaria)

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Cremation Urn with Lid (Olla Ossuaria)

Place of OriginLikely Germany, reportedly from Cologne

DateLate 1st - early 2nd century CE

DimensionsH: 32 cm (12 5/8 in.); Rim Diam: 16 cm (6 3/8 in.)

MediumColorless glass; free-blown, tooled, applied M-shaped handles.

ClassificationGlass

Credit LinePurchased with funds from the Libbey Endowment, Gift of Edward Drummond Libbey

Object number

1977.14A-B

Not on View

DescriptionA large, free-blown glass jar of transparent pale blue-green hue (5 BG 7/2) with a corresponding lid of a distinct yellow-green tint. The jar features a near-spherical, bulbous body resting on an open, pushed-in base with no pontil mark. The neck is deeply concave, terminating in a hollow rim folded outward, upward, inward, and downward. Two large, M-shaped coil handles are applied to the shoulder; the excess glass at the tips is drawn back against the handle. The lid is of the bottle-neck form with a wide, flat, slightly concave disk rising to a hollow, tapering cylindrical handle capped by a flattened, pushed-in knob. The vessel shows scattered bubbles (ovoid and elongated), some black specks and stone inclusions, and areas of iridescence and milky weathering. Total weight: 1309.8 g.

Label TextDuring the early Roman Empire, cremation was the primary method of burial. The ashes of the deceased were placed in containers made of lead, stone, pottery, orglass, and buried in family tombs. This monumental jar is an exceptional example of glassblowing from the Rhineland, likely produced in Cologne (ancient Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensium), a major center for glass manufacturing. The sturdy, M-shaped handles are characteristic of storage jars from this region. You may notice the lid is a slightly more yellow-green shade than the blue-green jar; this indicates they were blown from two different batches of glass and matched together before being sold.Published ReferencesGrose, David, "Ancient Glass," Toledo Museum of Art Museum News, vol. 20, no. 3, 1978, p. 69, 81, repr. fig. 18.

"Recent Important Acquisitions," Journal of Glass Studies, vol. 20, 1978, repr. p. 120.

Lees-Causey, Catherine, "Some Roman Glass in the J. Paul Getty Museum," The J. Paul Getty Museum Journal, vol. 11, 1983, p. 153.

Grose, David, "The Origins and Early History of Glass," in The History of Glass, London, 1984, repr. (col.) p. 32.

Chambers, Karen S., Clearly Inspired: Contemporary Glass and Its Origins, San Francisco, 1999, repr. p. 35.

Page, Jutta-Annette, The Art of Glass: Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo, OH, Toledo Museum of Art, 2006, repr. (col.) p. 37.