Spherical Flask with Collar at Shoulder

Place of OriginRoman Empire, Eastern Mediterranean, perhaps Syro-Palestinian

DateProbably 2nd century

DimensionsH: 5 3/16 in. (13.1 cm);
H body: 3 1/8 in. (8.0 cm);
Max Diam: 3 1/8 in. (8.0 cm);
Diam Rim: 1 13/16 in. (4.6 cm);
Diam base: 1 9/16 in. (3.9 x 3.8 cm)

MediumMedium thin glass. Free and mold blown.

ClassificationGlass

Credit LineGift of Edward Drummond Libbey

Object number

1923.1084

Not on View

DescriptionThis flask is made of medium thin glass and is transparent yellowish olive brown (not found on the rock color chart). Small pinprick and larger bubbles are present throughout. The neck and mouth were free-blown, while the body was blown into a four-part mold consisting of three vertical sections joined to a disk-shaped base section (MCT III). The relief remains crisp except just above the base. There is no pontil mark. The rim is outsplayed at a 45-degree angle, rounded and thickened in the flame. The flask has a tall tubular neck with a slight bulge above the constriction at its base. A concave shoulder sits above a prominent shoulder collar. The spherical body curves down to a vertical edge above a concave base. The body is decorated in sunken relief with a design of nine interlocking circles, each with a dot in its center, bordered above and below by a double row of dots. On the underside of the base, there is a raised circle surrounding a small central knob.

Published ReferencesStern, E. Marianne, Roman Mold-blown Glass: the First through Sixth Centuries, "L'Erma" di Bretschneider in Association with the Toledo Museum of Art, Rome, Italy, 1995, pl. 115, p. 188, colorpl. 18, p. 57.