Bulbous Jar
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for Bulbous Jar
Bulbous Jar
Place of OriginAncient Rome, possibly Palestine or Syria
DatePossibly fourth century
DimensionsH: 2 15/16 in. (7.4 cm); Rim Diam: 2 1/4 in. (5.7 cm); Body Diam: 3 1/16 in. (7.8 cm)
MediumGlass; free blown and tooled.
ClassificationGlass
Credit LineGift of Edward Drummond Libbey
Object number
1923.890
Not on View
DescriptionThis jar is made of medium-thin glass in a transparent to translucent manganese-colored very dark red hue (near 5 R 2/6). A few small bubbles are visible in the glass. The vessel was free-blown and tooled, with a ring pontil mark of transparent natural pale green glass measuring approximately 0.9 cm.
The rim is everted and folded outward, upward, and inward. The neck is deeply concave with a concave transition to a concave shoulder. The bulbous body has its greatest diameter at the midpoint. The base is flattened but does not stand level due to the protruding pontil wad.
Nine ribs run from the top of the shoulder to the base. These convex ribs can be felt on the interior as bulges. Their irregular spacing suggests they were applied, but the flow of the glass and the interior bulges indicate they may have been blown in a vertically grooved mold. Its typology corresponds to Jar Class IA1a.
Probably fourth century
3rd-4th century
Fourth century
5th-6th century CE
4th-5th century CE
Late fourth to mid-fifth century
Probably fourth century
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