Hexagonal Jug with Christian Symbols
Hexagonal Jug with Christian Symbols
Place of OriginAncient Ancient Rome Empire, probably from Syria
DateLate 6th- early 7th centuries CE
DimensionsH: 19.7 cm (7 3/4 in.); Rim Diam: 4.6 cm (1 13/16 in.); Body Diam: 5.6 cm (2 3/16 in.)
MediumTransparent decolorized glass with a greenish tinge; body blown into a two-part mold, mouth and neck free-blown.
ClassificationGlass
Credit LinePurchased with funds from the Libbey Endowment, Gift of Edward Drummond Libbey
Object number
1948.13
Not on View
DescriptionThin glass. Blowing spirals. A few vertically elongated bubbles in neck and body. Body light yellow; handle natural light green; conical rim; neck widens toward shoulder; handle with thumbrest begins at applied thread around neck, extends to shoulder; six sided body with mold blown Christian symbols.
Transparent decolorized glass with a greenish tinge. Exact color cannot be determined because of weathering.
Mouth and neck free blown. Body blown into a two-part decorated mold (MCT VIII). One continuous mold seam between panels 1 and 6 and between panels 3 and 4 extends across underside of base. Pontil mark ca. 1.2 cm in diameter. Relief crisp. Excess glass at tip of handle continues into neck coil.
Circular mouth, with rim rounded and thickened in flame. Tapering neck. Concave shoulder. Hexagonal body. Kicked base. Curved coil handle applied to shoulder above panel 5 and attached to upper part of neck; pinched thumbrest ca. 1.8 cm from neck.
Neck coil continuing from handle attachment around upper part of neck from left to right. On the body, six decorated rectangular panels decorated with designs in low relief. In the panels, from left to right: 1, cross fourch?e below a dot enclosed by a circle; 2, ampulla or jug embossed on the side with a circle out of which a snake or vine curls upward, with several indistinct elements beside to and dangling from it; 3, stylized tree with tall trunk and nine curved branches; 4, stylized tree with ten curved branches on the left side and eleven on the right; 5, figure of a saint in funerary shroud with pointed top of head, with one cross on its torso, a second cross above its head, with two dots on either side of the cross and a zig-zag pattern on the lower part of the body (perhaps the winding of the material: a mummy for an Egyptian saint); 6, lattice. Underside of base undecorated.
Label TextThe panels on this jug depict a jar—possibly an incense burner with curling smoke—stylized trees, and a wrapped figure with a cross on its torso, possibly a hooded monk or a saint in a funerary shroud.Published ReferencesRiefstahl, Rudolf M., "Ancient and Near Eastern Glass," Toledo Museum News, vol. 4, no. 2, Spring 1961, p. 41, repr. (Also pub. as Ancient and Near Eastern Glass).
Riefstahl, Rudolf M. "The Complexities of Ancient Glass," Apollo, vol. 86, no. 70, Dec. 1967, p. 434, repr.
Labino, Dominick, Visual Art in Glass, Dubuque, IA, 1968, p. 21, 24, repr.
The Toledo Museum of Art, Art in Glass: A Guide to the Glass Collections, Toledo, Ohio, 1969, p. 32, repr.
Philippe, Joseph, Le Mond Byzantin dans l'histoire de la verrerie, Bologna, 1970, p. 36, repr.
Gunther, Charles F. "How Glass is Made," Toledo Museum News, vol. 15, no. 1, repr. p. 16.
Grose, David, "Ancient Glass," Toledo Museum 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, 2006, p. 52, repr. (col.) fig. 19B, p. 53.
Exhibition HistoryToledo Museum of Art, The Egypt Experience: Secrets of the Tomb, October 29, 2010-January 8, 2012.
Fifth to seventh centuries
about 578-614
about 578-629
Probably 6th century
about 578-614
Probably early 20th century (before 1913)
Fourth to sixth centuries
Probably second quarter of the first century
Probably sixth to early seventh centuries
Probably second to third quarter of first century
Probably second half of the first century
Probably second quarter to mid-first century
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