Ancient Roman Handled Pitcher, c. 3rd – 4th Century AD
A fine Roman free blown apple-green glass jug with applied strap handle, and a rounded body with slender neck and flaring lip. This jug was formed of four separate pieces of glass. The body was blown separately and manipulated to form a distinctive ribbed swirl pattern. The neck was decorated with an applied glass ring and applied glass forms another ring underneath the lip. A pontil mark from the blowing process is evident on the base.
Size: 4 ¾ x 3 inches -- 121 x 75 mm
A well-crafted artifact in excellent condition, with nice iridescence.
Provenance: Windsor gallery, NYC (2004): Ex-collection Royal Ontario Museum
Reference: Roman and Early Medieval Glass, Ernesto Wolf Collection, 2001, catalog # 140 for an eastern Mediterranean Roman flask with similar swirled ribs.
The survival of this fragile glass seems nearly miraculous. Occasionally examples where the glass has reacted to burial exhibit a shimmering iridescence that has long captivated the imagination of the most ardent collectors and artists.
