Hexagonal Bottle, Mixed Symbols Type, Series A

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Hexagonal Bottle, Mixed Symbols Type, Series A

Place of OriginProbably Phoenicia, possibly Sidon, Galilee

DateSecond quarter to mid-1st century CE

DimensionsH: 3 3/8 in. (8.5 cm); Rim Diam: 7/8 in. (2.3 cm); Diam: 1 9/16 in. (4 cm); Base Diam: 7/8 in. (2.3 cm)

MediumGlass; mold blown, tooled.

ClassificationGlass

Credit LineGift of Edward Drummond Libbey

Object number

1923.464

Not on View

DescriptionThis hexagonal bottle is classified as Mixed Symbols Type, Series A1, Generation A1b. It is made of translucent manganese-colored glass with medium-thin walls. The neck was free blown, while the body was formed in a three-part mold consisting of two vertical sections joined to a cup-shaped base (MCT V A). Vertical linear bubbles are visible in the neck. Mold seams—likely between panels 6 and 1 and panels 3 and 4—are difficult to discern, but the mold sections are exceptionally well aligned. Relief is moderately crisp, with dot-shaped punch marks outlining the motifs. Three concentric rings of chill marks appear on the underside of the base. The rim is folded outward, upward, and inward. The cylindrical neck transitions to a steeply sloping hexagonal shoulder and a short, upward-sloping circular bottom. These join a hexagonal body set on a flat base with a central recessed cylindrical cavity and tiny round bump. The shoulder is decorated with six downturned rays aligned with the corners of the panels below. Each of the six rectangular body panels features a distinct motif: (1) a wreath or crown of olive leaves; (2) a footed amphora with a globular body and tall handles; (3) a convex circular object with a flat edge, possibly a patera or tympanon; (4) a shepherd’s crook; (5) a spouted jug with a high handle; and (6) a conical boss with ten radiating lines. The bottom of the vessel is encircled by twenty-five upturned tongues.

Published ReferencesLightfoot, Christopher S., "A Roman Glass Flask in Gaziantep Museum," Anatolian Studies, vol. 35, 1985, p. 126, no. 21.

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. 43, pp. 138-141, color pls. 5 and 9, pp. 52 and 54, photo, Fig. 3.

Comparative ReferencesSee also Eisen, Gustavus A., Glass, New York, William Edwin Rudge, 1927, fig. 120, p. 250 (note: text of this work is not reliable).