Condition
Incrustation on the interior.
Description
In-folded, tubular rim; conical mouth; horizontal shoulder, where a noticeable overblow is visible; cylindrical body tapering toward the flat, slightly concave bottom. At the center of the bottom there is an annular pontil scar (W. 1 cm).
Comments and Comparanda
Jars are a common shape in the eastern Mediterranean between the third and seventh centuries, with many forms recorded, mostly with bulbous body; the cylindrical type is rare (Stern, Eva Marianne. 1995. The Toledo Museum of Art. Roman Mold-Blown Glass: The First through Sixth Centuries. Rome: “L’Erma” di Bretschneider., pp. 150–151). The vessel was probably made in Syria, where purple glass was in fashion during the end of the third and the first half of the fourth centuries (Hayes, John W. 1975. Roman and Pre-Roman Glass in the Royal Ontario Museum. Toronto: Royal Ontario Museum., p. 82; Stern, Eva Marianne. 1995. The Toledo Museum of Art. Roman Mold-Blown Glass: The First through Sixth Centuries. Rome: “L’Erma” di Bretschneider., p. 147). Parallels include four vessels in the Newark Museum (Auth, Susan Handler. 1976. Ancient Glass at the Newark Museum from the Eugene Schaefer Collection of Antiquities. Newark, NJ: Newark Museum., p. 218, nos. 443–446). Similar but not identical parallels dated to the fourth century have been published from Greece and Syria (Antonaras, Anastassios. 2017. Glassware and Glassworking in Thessaloniki: First Century BC–Sixth Century AD. Oxford: Archaeopress., p. 132, form 100; cf. Isings, Clasina. 1957. Roman Glass from Dated Finds. Groningen: Wolters., pp. 159–160, form 130b; cf. also Dussart, Odile. 1998. Le verre en Jordanie et en Syrie du sud. Bibliothèque archéologique et historique 152. Beirut: Institut Français d’Archéologie du Proche-Orient., p. 92, form ΒVIΙ.2424, fig. 18/14, p. 160, BXI.3211b, plate 48).
Provenance
1935, George Dupont Pratt, American, 1869–1935; 1935–1937, Estate of George Dupont Pratt, American, 1869–1935 [sold, Anderson Galleries, Inc., New York, January 15, 1937, lot 50]; 1940, Harry Leonard Simmons [sold, Parke-Bernet Galleries, New York, April 5, 1940, lot 108, through French & Co. to J. Paul Getty]; 1940–1976, J. Paul Getty, American, 1892–1976, upon his death, held in trust by the estate; Estate of J. Paul Getty, American, 1892–1976, distributed to the J. Paul Getty Museum, 1978
Bibliography
Anderson Galleries. 1937. Paintings by Lawrence and Gainsborough . . . and Other Artists; Chinese, Japanese, Persian, and Indian Objects of Art, Arms and Armor, Ancient Glass, and Other Antiquities, Bronze Sculptures and Medals, Etchings and Drawings. Property of the Estate of the Late George D. Pratt. Public Sale, January 15–16, 1937, sale cat. New York: American Art Association, Anderson Galleries., lot 50.
Paintings by Contemporary Artists: Brackman, Corbino, Philipp, Pushman, Lebduska, and Other Works by an Older Generation of Artists. Other Art Objects from the Collection of H. Leonard Simmons, New York, Sold by His Order: Public Sale, Paintings, April 4–5, 1940, sale cat. New York: Parke-Bernet Galleries., lot 108.
Stothart, Herbert. 1965. A Handbook of the Sculpture in the J. Paul Getty Museum. Malibu: J. Paul Getty Museum., p. 20, no. F-15.
Exhibitions
None