546. Head Pendant

Condition

Part of the beard and the suspension loop are missing.

Description

Dark blue, rod-formed pendant comprising two back-to-back-placed bearded male heads. The blue base mass renders the hair and the beard. A blob of yellow glass indicates the skin of the face, another the applied nose, and an elongated, yellow lump the ear. The eyes are made of three overlapping disks of dark blue, yellow, and lighter blue glass of gradually smaller diameters, allowing all to be visible. A disk of red glass formed the mouth, but only its upper end is preserved. A red blob placed on the upper center of the forehead is only partly preserved. Translucent dark blue glass formed a suspension loop at the center of the upper surface; only the base of it is preserved. Remains of dark red sandy coating adhere to the interior of a tiny rod hole.

Comments and Comparanda

On Punic glass pendants in general, see comments on cat. 544. Male heads present the largest group among Punic head pendants. 2004.9 belongs to a subgroup of double-faced male heads with sleek hair and beard (Seefried 1982, p. 26–27, 85–87, plate I, type B.A.), which are dated between the middle of the seventh and the fifth century BCE.

Provenance

Pierre Mavrogordato, Greek, 1870–1948 (Berlin, Germany); by 1974–1988, Erwin Oppenländer, 1901–1988 (Waiblingen, Germany), by inheritance to his daughter, Ingrid Reisser, 1988; 1988–2004, Ingrid Reisser (Böblingen, Germany), sold to the J. Paul Getty Museum, 2004

Bibliography

von Saldern et al. 1974, p. 83, no. 226.

Exhibitions

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