41. Amphoriskos

Condition

Fully preserved; no cracks or breaks. Very few nicks and scratches. Reddish remains of the core in the interior.

Description

Translucent dark green body (appearing black); opaque white decoration. Broad, inward-sloping rim-disk; tall, cylindrical neck; obtuse-angled shoulder; top-shaped body; convex bottom; globular base-knob. Two dark green vertical strap handles extend from the shoulders to the upper part of the neck.

A thick unmarvered opaque white thread is wound around the rim, and another one around half of the base-knob.

Comments and Comparanda

On core-formed amphoriskoi of this period, see comments on cat. 34. This is a very rare variant of the core-formed amphoriskoi because of its monochrome body, and no other examples with the exact same colors of dark green (nearly black) and white have been identified. For the classification of this particular amphoriskos, see Grose 1989, class I:F, amphoriskos form I:2. The almost spherical base-knob does not appear among group I amphoriskoi, yet the body shape fits within that group. The base-knob appears in group II, similar to II:2, which has a different body form. Other intriguing details are that the rim was made by bending the mass of the body and not by a separate disc. In addition, only a layer of dirt—no larger particles of the core—is visible in the interior, raising doubts about the production technique and the date of the vessel.

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

von Saldern et al. 1974, p. 64, no. 147; p. 63, plate no. 147.

Exhibitions

Molten Color: Glassmaking in Antiquity (Malibu, 2005–2006; 2007; 2009–2010)

Gläser der Antike: Sammlung Erwin Oppenländer (Hamburg and Cologne, 1974–1975)