Glass square bottle with base inscription
Translucent blue green; handle in same color.
Slanting rim folded out, over, and in, and flattened on top surface, forming a restricted oval opening to mouth; concave cylindrical neck; uneven shoulder with rounded outer edges; square body with vertical sides; flat bottom, slightly pushed in at center with circular pontil scar; broad strap handle applied in a thick pad across shoulder, drawn up at a slant, turned in at an acute angle, and trailed onto neck and underside of rim.
On bottom, Greek inscription in relief, written in retrograde in three lines: OMO at top, NOI at bottom, and A to one side in the middle.
Intact, although top end of trail on handle is broken off with weathered edges, and one crack down side at one corner; many large and elongated bubbles; dulling, pitting, and iridescence, with patches of encrustation and black weathering on exterior, encrustation, weathering, and iridescence on interior.
Many everyday containers were made in molds to a consistent size, like modern wine or beer bottles. Some of the molds included a stamp, usually on the base, as a trademark, although it remains uncertain whether this referred to the bottles or to their contents. On this example there is a inscription in large Greek letters on the base: it reads OMONOIA, probably a personal name.
Slanting rim folded out, over, and in, and flattened on top surface, forming a restricted oval opening to mouth; concave cylindrical neck; uneven shoulder with rounded outer edges; square body with vertical sides; flat bottom, slightly pushed in at center with circular pontil scar; broad strap handle applied in a thick pad across shoulder, drawn up at a slant, turned in at an acute angle, and trailed onto neck and underside of rim.
On bottom, Greek inscription in relief, written in retrograde in three lines: OMO at top, NOI at bottom, and A to one side in the middle.
Intact, although top end of trail on handle is broken off with weathered edges, and one crack down side at one corner; many large and elongated bubbles; dulling, pitting, and iridescence, with patches of encrustation and black weathering on exterior, encrustation, weathering, and iridescence on interior.
Many everyday containers were made in molds to a consistent size, like modern wine or beer bottles. Some of the molds included a stamp, usually on the base, as a trademark, although it remains uncertain whether this referred to the bottles or to their contents. On this example there is a inscription in large Greek letters on the base: it reads OMONOIA, probably a personal name.
Artwork Details
- Title: Glass square bottle with base inscription
- Period: Mid Imperial
- Date: 2nd–3rd century CE
- Culture: Roman
- Medium: Glass; mold-blown
- Dimensions: 4 3/4 x 2 5/8 x 2 5/8 in. (12.1 x 6.7 x 6.7 cm)
- Classification: Glass
- Credit Line: Rogers Fund, 2000
- Object Number: 2000.64
- Curatorial Department: Greek and Roman Art
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