Glass hexagonal bottle

Unknown

ca. 25–50 CE · Glass · Greek and Roman Art

Opaque white. Rim folded out, round, and in, then pressed into flaring mouth; misshapen cylindrical neck; downward sloping shoulder; hexagonal body with vertical sides, then cup-shaped below; low base with rounded edge and slightly indented bottom. Mold seams run from base of neck, down sides, and meet at center of bottom. Decoration in relief in three registers: on shoulder, six downturned rays or pointed petals; on body, six rectangular panels, each decorated at top with a triangular pediment flanked by prominent but indistinct round objects, framed at sides with posts or slender columns, and bordered below by an egg-and-dart band; in each panel, a different bird perched on or flying over a nest or rock; above the base, twenty-seven upturned tongues (nine in each segment of mold). Intact; pitting, dulling, and thick creamy weathering. This bottle belongs to a type known as the Bird Series because the figures depicted in the pedimented panels appear to be birds perched on or flying over a nest or rock. It is a relatively rare type, although several of the surviving examples are made (as here) in opaque white glass.

Artist

Unknown

Date

ca. 25–50 CE

Medium

Glass

Culture

Roman

Department

Greek and Roman Art

Credit line

Rogers Fund, 1906