Double Head-shaped Bottle: Two Similar Medusas

DatePerhaps late first or second century

DimensionsH: 4 1/8 in. (10.5 cm); Rim Diam: 1 1/8 in. (2.8 cm); Diam: 2 1/8 in. (5.4 cm); Base Diam: 1 7/16 in. (3.7 cm)

MediumGlass; mold blown and tooled.

ClassificationGlass

Credit LineGift of Edward Drummond Libbey

Object number

1923.458

Not on View

DescriptionThis mold-blown and tooled vessel belongs to the glass classification. It is made of translucent manganese-colored moderate red glass (near 5 R 5/4) and formed from medium thin glass, though the fabric cannot be determined due to weathering. The rim and neck were free-blown, and the body was blown into a three-part mold with two vertical sections and a separate disk-shaped base section (MCT VII). The mold seams are hidden within the hair at the junction of the two heads. The vessel has a horizontal rim folded outward, upward, and inward, with a tubular neck that narrows below the midpoint and then widens again. The body takes the form of two identical Medusa heads placed back to back. Each head displays a symmetrical facial structure: arching brows, large almond-shaped eyes with recessed pupils, narrow noses, slightly parted lips, and narrow prominent chins. Face A is slightly narrower than Face B. Wings are discernible in the hair of Face B, located above the forehead. Beneath both chins is a thick band with looping elements that represent the knotted serpents of Medusa. The snaky hair is rendered with curling locks and a central part. On the base underside, two concave-sided diamonds are arranged around a sunken central dot. No pontil mark is present.

Published ReferencesStern, E. Marianne, Roman Mold-blown Glass: The First through Sixth Centuries, Rome, "L'Erma" di Bretschneider, 1995, p. 223-224, no.142, color pl. 23.