Condition
The surface presents small patches of iridescence and pitting. The upper part was reattached to the body with large fills.
Description
Flaring, in-folded, and flattened tubular rim; cylindrical neck mildly constricted at its base; convex sloping shoulder; cylindrical body with convex lower part; flat bottom. One bifurcated strap handle with an elbow made of two layers of glass, dark blue on the upper side and turquoise on the lower, has been applied on the shoulder and drawn up to the lip, where it forms a vertical tab.
The mold-blown decoration consists of a frieze of 29 downturned flutes on the shoulder and a frieze of 29 upturned identical flutes on the lower part of the body. The central, cylindrical part of the body is bordered on the upper part by a raised ridge and on the lower part by two ridges. The ivy frieze on the central part conceals the seams of the mold. On each mold section is a pair of horizontal twigs with two pairs of heart-shaped ivy leaves intertwined in a knot at the center of the panel. On the bottom are three raised concentric rings surrounding a central boss, the outer ring forming a base-ring 2.4 cm in diameter.
Comments and Comparanda
This piece belongs to a variant of a well-known type of mold-blown vessel, all of which are finished as jugs, with the exception of cat. 207, which is an amphoriskos (Harden, Donald Benjamin. 1944. “Two Tomb-Groups of First Century AD from Yahmour, Syria, and the Supplement to the List of Romano-Syrian Glasses with Mould-Blown Inscriptions” and “Romano-Syrian Glass: A Postscript.” Syria 24: 81–95, 291–292., pp. 84–86, 292; Stern, Eva Marianne. 1995. The Toledo Museum of Art. Roman Mold-Blown Glass: The First through Sixth Centuries. Rome: “L’Erma” di Bretschneider., pp. 116–168, nos. 75–77, with bibliography). Several finds originate from the Syro-Palestinian region, where they were quite probably produced (Harden, Donald Benjamin. 1944. “Two Tomb-Groups of First Century AD from Yahmour, Syria, and the Supplement to the List of Romano-Syrian Glasses with Mould-Blown Inscriptions” and “Romano-Syrian Glass: A Postscript.” Syria 24: 81–95, 291–292., pp. 84–85, 292; Israeli, Yael. 1964. “Sidonian Mould Blown Glass Vessels in the Museum Haaretz.” Journal of Glass Studies 6: 34–41., pp. 36–37, nos. 4a–b, figs. 6–7). Most of them are decorated with an open wreath of ivy, grape, and olive. This particular variant bears a continuous frieze of ivy sprays. Published parallels include the following: Platz-Horster, Gertrud. 1976. Antike Gläser: Ausstellung, November 1976–Februar 1977, Antikenmuseum Berlin, Staatliche Museen Preussischer Kulturbesitz. Berlin: Antikenmuseum Berlin., p. 40, no. 59; Kunz, Martin, ed. 1981. 3000 Jahre Glaskunst: Von der Antike bis zum Jugendstil, exh. cat. Lucerne: Kunstmuseum., p. 78, no. 250; Ancient Glass. Formerly the Kofler-Truniger Collection, March 5–6, 1985, sale cat. London: Christie’s., p. 65, no. 105; Stern, Eva Marianne. 1995. The Toledo Museum of Art. Roman Mold-Blown Glass: The First through Sixth Centuries. Rome: “L’Erma” di Bretschneider., pp. 168–169, no. 77.
Provenance
By 1974–1988, 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
Saldern von, Axel, Birgit Nolte, Peter La Baume, and Thea Elisabeth Haevernick. 1974. Gläser der Antike. Sammlung Erwin Oppenländer. Mainz: von Zabern., p. 158, no. 442.
Stern, Eva Marianne. 1995. The Toledo Museum of Art. Roman Mold-Blown Glass: The First through Sixth Centuries. Rome: “L’Erma” di Bretschneider., p. 169, n. 1a.
Exhibitions
Gläser der Antike: Sammlung Erwin Oppenländer (Hamburg and Cologne, 1974–1975)