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Catalogue

177. Head Flask

Accession Number 2003.327
Dimensions H. 14.0, Diam. rim 3.1, Diam. base 3.9 cm; Wt. 55.11 g
Date Ca. second century CE
Production Area Eastern Mediterranean [Saldern said probably Syrian]
Material Translucent bluish glass
Modeling Technique and Decoration The neck and rim were free-blown. The body was mold-blown in a two-part mold of two vertical sections, which did not fit well: the seams are visible, and from the ears downward, the back side seems to be larger than the front
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Condition

Fully preserved; small crack on the neck. Parts covered with iridescence, especially the interior; large areas with incrustation.

Description

Fire-polished, rounded rim; tall conical neck; head-shaped body; flat bottom.

A mature, bearded male figure is represented, hairless on the front and upper part of the head with thin, flat, straight long hair to the nape of neck. His eyes are gazing ahead, eyebrows are soft, nose is short and straight, ears stylized and small, and the mouth is closed and partly hidden in the rich beard, which is rendered with large curls; the chin seems to be protruding under two large globular curls of the beard. On the flat bottom is an annular pontil mark (W. 1.7, Th. 0.2 cm), and off-center, toward the back side of the head, a straight mold seam is visible.

The melon-shaped upper part of the head and the relatively ugly facial features could be a physiognomic feature indicating a philosopher, in particular Socrates (, p. 171, no. 468). Equally probable is that it represents a follower of the Dionysian cycle, such as a Silenus, since the busts of Socrates in sculpture exhibit all the basic features of the iconography of Silenus (, pp. 112–118, figs. 456–573; , pp. 33–55; , pp. 57–62).

Comments and Comparanda

For head-shaped vessels, see comments on cat. 176. No direct parallels have been found.

Provenance

By 1963–1988, Erwin Oppenländer, 1901–1988 (Waiblingen, Germany), by inheritance to his son, Gert Oppenländer, 1988; 1988–2003, Gert Oppenländer (Waiblingen, Germany), sold to the J. Paul Getty Museum, 2003

Bibliography

, p. 141, no. 7, ill.

, p. 171, no. 468.

Exhibitions

Molten Color: Glassmaking in Antiquity (Malibu, 2005–2006; 2007; 2009–2010)

Gläser der Antike: Sammlung Erwin Oppenländer (Hamburg and Cologne, 1974–1975)