Octagonal Jug

Place of OriginRoman Empire, Eastern Mediteranean, Syria

DateSixth to seventh centuries

DimensionsH: 3 15/16 in. (10.1 cm); Rim Diam: 1 1/16 in. (2.7 cm); Body Diam: 1 7/8 in. (4.7 cm)

MediumGlass; mold-blown and tooled.

ClassificationGlass

Credit LineGift of Edward Drummond Libbey

Object number

1923.1356

Not on View

DescriptionThis octagonal jug is made of thin, transparent natural green glass, although its exact color cannot be determined because of weathering. The vessel shows blowing spirals, but the fabric cannot be determined due to its condition. The mouth and neck were free-blown, while the body was probably blown into a multipart mold with a base plate. The relief decoration is indistinct, possibly due to weathering or slight expansion during manufacture. A curved coil handle was applied to the shoulder above a narrow panel and attached to the middle of the neck, where it continues into a neck coil that wraps around the middle of the neck from left to right. The rim is circular with an unworked edge. The neck is tubular, and the horizontal shoulder leads to an octagonal body that tapers downward to a kicked base. The underside of the base shows an indistinct mold-blown design. A ring pontil mark approximately 1.25 cm in diameter is visible on the base. Each of the eight body panels is decorated in sunken relief: the four wide panels contain lozenge patterns, and the four narrow panels display a vertical column of four or five rectangles.

Published ReferencesStern, E. Marianne, Roman Mold-blown Glass: The First through Sixth Centuries, Rome, "L'Erma" di Bretschneider, 1995, p. 264, no. 186.