Condition
Intact. Incrustation on the interior and especially around the handles and rim on the exterior.
Description
In-folded, tubular rim; conical mouth; cylindrical neck, constricted at its base; long, conical body tapering toward the bottom; flat bottom covered by a circular pontil scar (approx. 1.2 cm in diameter), seemingly solid. No decoration is visible on the body. Two vertical, coil handles are applied at the shoulders and attached midway up the neck.
Comments and Comparanda
Small glass amphorae rendering in miniature the shape of large clay amphorae were quite popular and were used as tableware for serving wine. This vessel belongs to a distinctive group of Syro-Palestinian table glass amphorae, appearing in four different types, which have been dated to the fourth and fifth centuries CE (Stern, Eva Marianne. 1977. Ancient Glass at the Fondation Custodia (Collection Frits Lugt) Paris. Archaeologia Traiectina 12. Groningen: Wolfers-Noordhoff., pp. 84–85). The tall, tubular neck, constricted at its base, led us to ascribe this vessel to type III. In particular, on the basis of its long, conical body, the presence of a base, and the absence of a decorative coil halfway down the neck, it is ascribed to type IIIB1b (Stern, Eva Marianne. 1977. Ancient Glass at the Fondation Custodia (Collection Frits Lugt) Paris. Archaeologia Traiectina 12. Groningen: Wolfers-Noordhoff., pp. 84–85, fig. 3). The findspots indicate that these vessels may have been produced in Palestine, possibly beginning in the first half of the fourth century CE: Barag, Dan. 1970. “Glass Vessels of the Roman and Byzantine Periods in Palestine.” PhD diss. [in Hebrew], Hebrew University, Jerusalem., vol. 2, plate 37, type 10.6 (variant). Also cf. Auth, Susan Handler. 1976. Ancient Glass at the Newark Museum from the Eugene Schaefer Collection of Antiquities. Newark, NJ: Newark Museum., p. 131, no. 164; Ancient Glass: The Bomford Collection of Pre-Roman and Roman Glass on Loan to the City of Bristol Museum and Art Gallery. 1976. Bristol: Museum and Art Gallery., no. 164; Oliver, Andrew, Jr. 1980. Ancient Glass in the Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Pittsburgh. Pittsbourgh, PA: Carnegie Institute., p. 124, no. 218; Stern, Eva Marianne. 2001. Roman, Byzantine, and Early Medieval Glass, 10 BCE–700 CE: Ernesto Wolf Collection. Ostfildern-Ruit: Hatje Cantz., pp. 146–149, pp. 210–211, nos. 100–101.
Provenance
1935, George Dupont Pratt, American, 1869–1935; 1935–1937, Estate of George Dupont Pratt, American, 1869–1935 [sold, Anderson Galleries, New York, January 15, 1937, lot 61]; 1940, Harry Leonard Simmons [sold, Parke Bernet Galleries, Inc., New York, April 5, 1940, lot 136, through French & Co. to J. Paul Getty]; 1940–1976, J. Paul Getty, American, 1892–1976, upon his death, held in trust by the estate; 1976–1978, 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 61, ill.
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 136, ill.
Exhibitions
None