Hexagonal Bottle, Birds Type, Series A

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Hexagonal Bottle, Birds Type, Series A

Place of OriginProbably Phoenicia, perhaps Sidon area

DateProbably second quarter of first century

DimensionsH: 3 1/16 in. (7.7 cm); Max Diam: 1 5/8 in. (4.15 cm); Rim Diam: 7/8 in. (2.2 cm); Base Diam: 15/16 in. (2.45 cm)

MediumGlass; mold blown in a three-part mold, tooled.

ClassificationGlass

Credit LineGift of Edward Drummond Libbey

Object number

1923.437

Not on View

DescriptionThis mold-blown bottle (Bird Type, Series A1, Generation A1b) is made of opaque white glass. The neck was free-blown, while the hexagonal body was formed using a three-part vertical mold (MCT IV A); seams between panels 6 and 1, 2 and 3, and 4 and 5 converge at the center of the flat base. The relief is moderately crisp, and the mold edges are carefully aligned. The rim is folded outward, upward, and inward. A cylindrical neck transitions to a downward sloping shoulder and an upward sloping bottom. The low, offset base is flat. Shoulder decoration includes six downturned rays or pointed petals. Each of the six nearly square panels on the body is topped with a triangular pediment and divided by ribs or posts; the lower edge of the panels is bordered with a simplified egg-and-dart pattern. Between the pediments are small spherical elements. Each panel depicts a bird or winged insect in a distinct pose on or above a nest or rock: 1) a bird with a spoon-shaped bill (possibly a swan) on a nest; 2) a stylized butterfly clutching a rock; 3) a bird (possibly a falcon) perched leftward on a rock; 4) a bird (possibly an ibis) on a pot; 5) a small raptor flying left over a nest or rock; and 6) a swooping songbird descending toward a nest. The base is decorated with twenty-six upturned tongues.

Published ReferencesRichter, G.M.A., "The Curtis Collection of Ancient Glass," Art in America 2, 1914, p. 83, fig. 8.

Stern, E. Marianne, Roman Mold-Blown Glass: The First Through Sixth Centuries, Rome, Italy, "L'Erma" di Bretschneider in association with the Toledo Museum of Art, 1995, cat. no. 45, pp. 142-144, color pl. 5 and 10, pp. 52 and 54.