CYLINDRICAL ROMAN GLASS BOTTLE

 

CYLINDRICAL BOTTLE of Joop van der Groen

Roman Empire, Eastern Mediterranean │ Date: Late 1st century – 2nd century AD

Size: ↑ 17,0 cm; Ø max. 12,4 cm; Ø rim 7,5 cm. │ Weight: 437 gram

Technique: Mold-blown in an open mold. Neck and mouth free blown. Handle applied.
Classification: Isings (1957) form 51 a. Fleming (1999) type a for the handle.
Description: Transparent bluish-green glass. Cylindrical body with short cylindrical neck, rim folded outward, down, upward, and outward to form a collar. Shoulder slopes, with rounded edge. Wall tapers slightly and curves in the bottom; base plain, slightly concave on undersite; no pontil. Strap handle with twelve sharp ribs, applied into edge, drawn up and in, and attached to neck.
Condition: Intact with strong iridescence and with some encrustation
Remarks: A handle like this has been named “celery-handle”.
Through the interaction of liquid and pollutions in the ground glass is weathering and can get all colours of the rainbow.
Provenance: before 2005 in the private collection of Simon Spierer (1926 – 2005), Genève; he was an art dealer and patron of the arts.
Published: Romeins glas uit particulier bezit (J. van der Groen & H. van Rossum, 2011).
Exhibited: Thermenmuseum Heerlen (NL), “Romeins Glas, geleend uit particulier bezit”,
29 April – 28 August 2011, exp. no. 206
Reference: Ancient Glass of Asia Minor – The Yüksel Erimtan Collection (C. Lightfoot & M. Arslan, 1992), no. 18; Ancient Glass in the Israel Museum – The Eliahu Dobkin Collection and Other Gifts (Y. Israeli, 2003), no. 323; Ancient Glass in National Museums Scotland (C. Lightfoot, 2007), no. 180; Hôtel des Ventes d’Enghien, Enghien-les-Bains (Fr), Auction 22-05-2011, no. 8.