Hexagonal Jar with Basket Handle
Hexagonal Jar with Basket Handle
Place of OriginEastern Mediterranean, probably Syria
DateSixth to early seventh centuries
DimensionsH: 4 13/16 in. (12.3 cm); W handle: 7 15/16 in. (20.1 cm); Diam (rim): 2 7/8 in. (7.4 cm); Diam (body): 3 5/16 in. (8.4 cm); W base: 2 1/4 in.(5.7 cm)
MediumMold blown; tooled; applied handle. Thin to medium thin glass.
ClassificationGlass
Credit LineGift of Edward Drummond Libbey
Object number
1923.1364
Not on View
DescriptionThis jar is made of transparent natural pale green glass (near 10 G 6/2) with a similarly colored coil and handles. The fabric cannot be fully determined because of weathering. Blowing spirals and black specks are visible in the handles. The neck and mouth were free blown, and the body was probably blown into a multipart mold with a base plate, resulting in crisp relief designs. A pontil mark about 1.4 cm in diameter is visible, and excess glass at the tips of the handles was drawn thin against the handle.
The rim is outsplayed and folded outward, upward, and inward. The neck is deeply concave, with a slightly sloped shoulder leading to a hexagonal body that tapers downward. The concave base has a tooled kick. Two curved coil handles are attached to the shoulder and the edge of the rim above panels 1 and 4; they are folded inward, upward, and outward to form closed loops. A separate basket handle, made from a coil with a circular section, connects the tops of the side handles and is attached across them, with a visible tool mark at its top.
The body is decorated with six rectangular panels in sunken relief: panels 1 and 4 contain a vertical column of three lozenges with a circle in each; panels 2 and 5 show a lattice pattern; panels 3 and 6 display stylized palm branches with eleven and twelve leaves, respectively. The underside of the base bears a rosette with twelve petals in sunken outline. The jar is complete but the basket handle was broken and repaired. There are cracks and a small loss in the upper body near panels 5 and 6. The object has been cleaned, but the original surface is not preserved. The interior and exterior are cloudy and rough with an iridescent film, beige weathering, pitting, and ice floes.
Published ReferencesStern, E. Marianne, Roman Mold-blown Glass: the First through Sixth Centuries, "L'Erma" di Bretschneider in Association with the Toledo Museum of Art, Rome, Italy, 1995, cat. no. 179, pp. 260-261.Sixth to early seventh centuries
Probably early 20th century (before 1913)
Probably 6th century
Sixth to early seventh centuries
about 578-636 or 638
Probably first quarter of first century
Sixth to early seventh centuries
Sixth to early seventh centuries
Probably mid- to second half of first century
Second quarter to mid-first century CE
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