Hexagonal Jug with Christian Symbols

Place of OriginProbably Syria

DateFifth to seventh centuries

DimensionsH: 7 15/16 in. (20.1 cm); Rim Diam: 2 3/8 in. (6 cm); Body Diam: 2 5/8 in. (6.6 cm)

MediumGlass; mold blown, tooled, applied handle.

ClassificationGlass

Credit LineGift of Edward Drummond Libbey

Object number

1923.1352

Not on View

DescriptionThis jug is made of thin, decolorized glass whose original color cannot be determined due to surface weathering. The body was mold-blown into a hexagonal form with six panels, each featuring different decorative reliefs. Blowing spirals and elongated bubbles are visible. The mouth and neck were free blown, with a spouted, rounded rim folded outward, upward, and inward. A single coil handle is attached from the shoulder to the rim. Panel decorations include stylized palm branches, lattice designs, a cross above a stepped form that may represent an altar or column, and a hooded figure possibly depicting a Stylite saint standing atop vertical lines interpreted as a stylized pillar. The base is undecorated.

Label TextThis mold-blown glass jug from the Eastern Mediterranean features six decorative panels with Christian symbols. One panel shows a cross above a stepped form—possibly representing a column—while another may depict a hooded saint standing atop vertical lines, interpreted as a stylized pillar. These features suggest connections to early Christian Stylite saints, such as Symeon Stylites, who famously lived atop columns in spiritual isolation. Palm fronds and geometric patterns complete the iconography. Likely made in Syria between the 5th and 7th centuries, such jugs may have served as pilgrimage souvenirs.Published ReferencesJoseph Philippe, , Bologna, 1970, pp. 34, 35, ill.

Stern, E. Marianne, Roman Mold-blown Glass: The First through Sixth Centuries, Rome, "L'Erma" di Bretschneider, 1995, p. 265-266, no. 189.

Yoshimizu, Tsuneo, The Survey of Glass in the World, Tokyo, 1992, vol. 1, fig. 249, p. 125 (col.).

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