ROMAN NARROW-NECKED JUG of Hans van Rossum
NARROW-NECKED JUG
First half of 1st century AD | From a workshop in north Italy
Size↑13.6 cm | ø 9.3 cm | Weight 56 g
Technique: Free blown, handle applied; tooled
Classification: Isings 1957 form 14 (variant)
Description: Transparent pale green glass __with handle of similar colored glass. Smooth transition to squat piriform body; rim widened and unworked; tall tubular neck; flattened base, slightly concave, no pontil mark. Angular ribbed handle __with four narrow-set ribs, applied to lower neck, and attached to upper half of body; excess glass pulled down as a triangular tail, pressed against wall, and snapped off.
Condition: Intact, slightly incrustation. At the base a bubble (fault) that popped at the moment the glass blower blew this jug and flattened the base. Perfect condition.
Remarks: Narrow-necked jugs are among the earliest vessels luxury glass tableware. The shapes echo contemporaneous pottery jugs. The body is usually piriform, squat bulbous, or spherical, the neck tubular, the rim everted or folded. The elegant handles are made with great care and precision and show a great deal of variety. This jug represents a small group that was often made in marbled and threaded glass and may have emanated from one workshop. The vessels are characterized by an angular tail decorates the lower end. The body can be piriform, squat bulbous, or spherical; the base is flattened. The find spots are concentrated in north Italy. Most jugs are large enough to have served as wine or water jugs at table. One magnificent jug of amber and white marbled glass came to light in the vicinity of Milan, at Dello, in the tomb of an athlete. The Augustan date assigned to the rich burial, based on coins of Augustus (27 BCE-14 CE), is probably too early, but the context is consistent with a date before the mid first century. A few ”imitations,” without the triangular tail at the lower end of the handle, were found in Cyprus.’ (Stern 2001). Another remarkable fact is the way in which the glass blower applied the handle. In later periods he will first apply the handle on the shoulder, then drawn up to attach it to rim or neck. This early jug shows the opposite way. First applying to the neck, then drawn down to attach to the body.
Provenance: Kölner Münzkabinett, 22 May 2013 lot 636 Private collection Cologne, formed in the 1930s, thence by descent
Reference: Roman, Byzantine and Early Medieval Glass, Ernesto Wolf Collection, E. M. Stern no. 29
(H – 18.4 cm D – 12.05 cm W – 55 gr.) Eretz Museum, Tel Aviv, Israel inv. no. 57658 Vetri Antichi del Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Aquileia, L. Mandruzzato and A. Marcante no. 149 (H 14.5 cm) and no. 150. (H 15.0 cm) Inv.nos. AQ12932 -AQ2005/4 I Vetri Romani, M. C. Calvi no. 3. Solid Liquid, Fortuna Fine Arts Ltd. no. 107 Allard Pierson (Archaeological) Museum, Amsterdam, inv. no. APM904