Spherical Jug with Trefoil Mouth

Place of OriginInland Palestine or Syria

DateFourth century

DimensionsH: 6 5/16 in. (16.0 cm); Rim Diam: 2 3/4 in. (7.0 cm); Max Diam: 2 3/8 in. (9.2 cm)

MediumGlass; free blown and tooled.

ClassificationGlass

Credit LineGift of Edward Drummond Libbey

Object number

1923.1002

Not on View

DescriptionMedium thin glass. Fabric cannot be determined because of weathering. Black specks in handle. Transparent to translucent manganese colored pale red (near 10 R 6/2). Translucent pale olive handle and coils (10 Y 6/2). Free-blown. Pontil mark ca. 1.1 cm in diameter. Added coils. Excess glass at tip of handle folded back into loop at rim. Trefoil mouth; rim rounded in flame. Cylindrical neck with curved transition to shoulder. Slightly sloping shoulder. Near spherical body. Base flattened with slight depression in center. Straight plain ribbon handle applied to shoulder and attached to top of rim where it was folded upward, downward, and outward to form an open diagonal U against the side of the mouth surmounted by a closed diagonal loop projecting above the rim. Rim coil and neck coil. CLASSIFICATION: Jug Class IB1a with a strap handle IIA1a.

Published ReferencesPuma, Richard Daniel de, Art In Roman Life: Villa to Grave, Rome, L'erma di Bretschneider, 2009, p. 92.Exhibition HistoryCedar Rapids Museum of Art, Art in Roman Life: Villa to Grave, September 2003-August 2005 (no catalog).

The Dayton Art Institute, The Roman World: Religions and Everyday Life (featuring the Brooklyn Museum exhibition: Tree of Paradise: Jewish Mosaics from the Roman Empire), September 21, 2007-January 6, 2008 (no catalog).