Skip to Main Content
375/631
of
Catalogue

364. Amphoriskos

Accession Number 78.AF.35
Dimensions H. 25.5, Diam. rim 7.1, max. Diam. 13.0, Diam. base 8.3, Th. 0.3 cm; Wt. 441.40 g
Date Third or probably fourth century CE
Production Area Eastern Mediterranean, Syro-Palestinian region
Material Translucent greenish glass
Modeling Technique and Decoration Free-blown
View in Collection

Condition

Heavily weathered, iridescent, and pitted areas on most of it.

Description

Fire-polished rim, in-folded in a small area; wide, conical mouth; almost horizontal shoulder; pear-shaped body, standing on a concave bottom. The entire vessel is a bit crooked, sagging on one side. Two vertical, six-ribbed strap handles are applied on the shoulder, folded in upon themselves, and attached on the upper part of the mouth to the rim. A thick coil is wound once around the neck at mid-height.

Comments and Comparanda

The vessel was probably made in third-century CE Syria. The features suggesting that attribution are the sagging, sack-shaped body; the distinctively shaped handles; and the single coil of glass decorating the neck. Quite similar to this amphoriskos is a jar with two handles in the Corning Museum of Glass (62.1.12: , p. 187, no. 733) and another in the Royal Ontario Museum (, p. 114, no. 436).

Provenance

1953, Spink & Son, Ltd. (London, England), sold to J. Paul Getty, 1953; 1953–1976, 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

, p. 21, no. F-28.

Exhibitions

None