Hexagonal Bottle, Birds Type, Series A

Place of OriginProbably Phoenicia, perhaps Sidon area

DateProbably second quarter of first century

DimensionsH: 2 15/16 in. (7.47 cm); Rim Diam: 7/8 in. (2.2 cm); Diam: 1 5/8 in. (4.05 cm); Base Diam: 15/16 in. (2.4 cm)

MediumMedium thin glass. Neck free blown. Body blown into a three-part mold of three vertical sections (MCT IV A).

ClassificationGlass

Credit LineGift of Edward Drummond Libbey

Object number

1923.462

Not on View

DescriptionThis translucent royal blue vessel was created using a three-part vertical mold (MCT IV A), with the neck free blown. The seams between panels 6 and 1, 2 and 3, and 4 and 5 converge at the center of the base. The mold edges are neatly aligned, and the relief is moderately crisp. The cylindrical neck has a rim folded outward, upward, and inward. The hexagonal body joins a downward sloping shoulder and an upward sloping bottom, terminating in a low, offset base with a flat underside. The shoulder is decorated with six downturned rays or pointed petals. The body features six nearly square panels topped with triangular pediments and framed by vertical ribs. An egg-and-dart border runs along the base of the panels, with spherical elements placed between the pediments. Each panel contains a bird or insect in a different pose, perched on or flying above nests or rocky formations. Panel subjects include: 1) a long-billed bird (possibly a heron) on a nest; 2) a butterfly with curled wings and antennae, grasping a rock; 3) a small bird on a rock; 4) a bird on a pot; 5) a raptor-like bird flying above a nest; and 6) a songbird swooping down toward unseen chicks. The base bears twenty-seven raised tongue motifs.

Published ReferencesStern, 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. 46, pp. 144-145, color pl. 10, p. 54.