of

179. Jar

Accession Number 78.AF.26
Dimensions H. 12.4, Diam. rim 5.2, Diam. body 4.9 cm; Wt. 101.14 g
Date Fourth century CE
Production Area Eastern Mediterranean, Syro-Palestinian region
Material Translucent purple glass
Modeling Technique and Decoration Mold-blown
View in Collection

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 (, 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 (, p. 82; , p. 147). Parallels include four vessels in the Newark Museum (, p. 218, nos. 443–446). Similar but not identical parallels dated to the fourth century have been published from Greece and Syria (, p. 132, form 100; cf. , pp. 159–160, form 130b; cf. also , 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

, lot 50.

, lot 108.

, p. 20, no. F-15.

Exhibitions

None