TRANPARENT ROMAN GLASS GRAPE BOTTLE

from
The Windmill Collection of Ancient Glass

Date: 3rd Century A.D. , Size: ↑13.2  cm     Ø  6.7 cm  , Weight: 75 Gr.

Classification: Stern (1995),  MCT VII, Stylized Grape Bottle, Series A Condition: In perfect condition

Description: Yellowish transparent bottle blown into a three-part mold: two vertical ones for the body and one for the bottom. The oval belly has (in a stylized pattern) ten horizontal rows of grapes, the top rows broken on two sides by a rudimentary grape leaf without veins. The vertical mold seam has also been concealed here. Three narrow (higher) circles are made in the flat bottom, a pontil mark is visible in the middle. The cylindrical neck is blown free and slightly pinched at the bottom near the overflowing collar edge of the mold. The top edge is folded outwards, up and then inwards again

Acquired: 8 October 2004 Archeological Center, Jaffa

Provenance: 2004 Mordechai Artzyeli collection Tel-Aviv (Isr.)

Published: 2016 Vind Magazine (nr.23) September, page 26 2004 Archeological Center, Jaffa, auction 33, lot 110

Remark: Since the invention of glass in the centuries before Christ. bottles in the shape of fruit are known, as evidenced by excavations in Cyprus and Egypt, among others. They are mainly bottles in the shape of a pomegranate, a fruit that was popular in the Middle East. This type of fruit (with a large amount of red seeds) was a symbol of passion and fertility in ancient times. From the 1st century onwards, fruit-shaped bottles were popular in the Syrian-Palestinian area. Especially the date and grape.

Refences: Antikenmuseum Berlin (Platz-Horster, nr.64); The Toledo Museum of Art, U.S.A,    coll.nr. 1923.1225.