Pilgrim Jar with Jewish Symbols

Place of OriginProbably made in or near Jerusalem

DateLate 6th- early 7th century CE

DimensionsH: 8.5 cm (3 3/8 in.); W. (base): 7.5 cm (3 in.); Rim Diam: 2 1/4 in. (5.8 cm); Diam (body): 3 3/16 in. (8.1 cm)

MediumDark brown glass; body blown into a dip mold, rim and neck free blown, tooled

ClassificationGlass

Credit LineGift of Edward Drummond Libbey

Object number

1923.1359

Not on View

DescriptionThe bottle is made of transparent to translucent dark brownish-orange glass and has medium thin walls. The fabric cannot be determined because of surface weathering. The rim and neck are free blown, while the six-sided body is blown into a mold with designs in low relief on the interior. The six-sided body is decorated with mold-blown Jewish symbols. The mold seams cannot be detected, and the relief remains moderately distinct. The vessel has a funnel-shaped mouth with a rim that is folded outward, upward, inward, and downward to the narrowest point of the opening, with visible tool marks on the interior. The shoulder is gently sloped, and the base is flat. A pontil mark about 1.7 cm in diameter is visible on the base. On the body, six rectangular panels are bordered by recessed dots and decorated in intaglio. These panels depict the following, from left to right: a menorah on a three-legged stand with an incense shovel and shofar; a stylized amphora with crescents in the corners; two concentric lozenges with a central recessed dot and dots in each corner; an indistinct motif that may represent a jar or plant; a stylized date palm with corner dots; and another pair of concentric lozenges like those in panel three. This jar belongs to Barag’s Class B II 1.

Published ReferencesNeuberg, Frederic, Ancient Glass,, Toronto, 1962, repr. fig. 55.

Riefstahl, Rudolph M., "The Complexities of Ancient Glass," Apollo, vol. 86, no. 70, Dec. 1967, repr. fig. 16, p. 434.

Labino, Dominick, Visual Art in Glass, Dubuque, IA, 1968, p. 21, 24, repr. fig. 11, p. 23.

Art in Glass, a Guide to the Glass Collections, Toledo, OH, 1969, repr. p. 32.

Gunther, Charles F., "How Glass is Made," Toledo Museum News, New Series: vol. 15, no. 1, repr. p. 17.

Barag, Dan, "Glass Pilgrim Vessels from Jerusalem," Journal of Glass Studies, vol. 12, 1970, p. 49, 56, repr. fig. 15, p. 60.

Goodenough, Erwin R., Jewish Symbols in the Greco-Roman Period, New York, 1953, vol. I, p. 170; vol. III, figs. 408-413.

Grose, David, "Ancient Glass," Toledo Museum of Art News, vol. 20, no. 3, 1978, p. 90, repr. fig. 33.

Engle, Anita, Ancient Glass in Its Context (Readings in Glass History, no. 10), Jerusalem, 1978, p. 84, repr.

Vose, Ruth Hurst, "From the Dark Ages to the Fall of Constantinople," in The History of Glass, London, 1984, repr. (col.) p. 52.

Page, Jutta-Annette, The Art of Glass: Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo, OH, Toledo Museum of Art, 2006, p. 52, repr. (col.) p. 53.

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

Toledo Museum of Art, The Egypt Experience: Secrets of the Tomb, October 29,2010-January 8, 2012.