Inscribed Flask in the Shape of a Male Head

Place of OriginProbably Syro-Palestinian, perhaps Cypriot

DateLate 2nd to early 3rd century CE

DimensionsH: 8 1/16 in. (20.5 cm); Rim Diam: 1 1/8 in. (2.9 cm); Diam: 3 in. (7.6 cm)

MediumMedium thin glass. Blown in a two-part mold.

ClassificationGlass

Credit LineGift of Edward Drummond Libbey

Object number

1923.414

Not on View

DescriptionTransparent natural moderate greenish yellow tint. Medium thin glass. Neck and projecting roll free blown. Body and shoulder collar blown into a two-part mold of two vertical sections, each including one-half of the base (MCT VIII). Continuous mold seam, through hair, extends across underside of base. Relief crisp. Pontil mark ca. 1.3 cm. Rim rounded and thickened in flame. Tall tubular neck tapering downward, with constriction near its base. Hollow projecting roll above shoulder collar. Body in the shape of a head. Oval slightly concave base. Body in the shape of a beardless youthful head wearing an ivy wreath. The face is narrow and oval with a high forehead; it has wide open, almond-shaped eyes with recessed pupils, a narrow well-proportioned nose, and short fleshy lips slightly parted. The face is widest at the jaw. Around the face is an ivy wreath with clusters of berries at forehead and ears and with a heart-shaped leaf at each temple. The hair is parted in the middle and the locks of hair framing the face are thick and swept back into a roll. The hair on the back of the head is flat with sinuous vertical strands. Below the chin is an inscription in Greek: (hyperekhei), "he/she/it surpasses, excels;" a second, now illegible, inscription can be made out just below the projecting roll on the back of the vessel. Transparent natural moderate greenish yellow tint. Neck and projecting roll free blown. Body and shoulder collar blown into a two-part mold of two vertical sections, each including one-half of the base (MCT VIII). One continuous mold seam, through hair, extends across underside of base. Relief crisp. Pontil mark ca. 1.3 cm. Rim rounded and thickened in flame. Tall tubular neck tapering downward, with constriction near its base. Hollow projecting roll above shoulder collar. Body in the shape of a head. Oval slightly concave base. Body in the shape of a beardless youthful head wearing an ivy wreath. The face is narrow and oval with a high forehead; it has wide open, almond-shaped eyes with recessed pupils, a narrow well-proportioned nose, and short fleshy lips slightly parted. The face is widest at the jaw. Around the face is an ivy wreath with clusters of berries at forehead and ears and a heart-shaped leaf at each temple. The hair is parted in the middle above the center of the forehead, and the locks of hair framing the face are thick and swept back into a roll. The hair on the back of the head is flat with sinuous vertical strands. Below the chin is an inscription in Greek: UPEREXEI (hyperekhei), "he/she/it surpasses, excels;" a second, now illegible, inscription can be made out just below the projecting roll on the back of the vessel.

Published ReferencesG. M. A. Richter, "The Curtis Collection of Ancient Glass," Art in America 2, 1914, 83, fig. 11.

Donald B. Harden, "Romano-Syrian Glasses with Mould-blown Inscriptions," Journal of Roman Studies 25, 1935, 183, pl. XXIII.

Dominick Labino, Visual Art in Glass, Dubuque, Iowa, 1968, 21, fig. 9, 22.

David F. Grose, "Ancient Glass," TMA Museum News, 1978, 78, 82, fig. 19.

Stern, 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, cat. no. 147, p. 228, color plate 24, p. 61.