bottle
Object NameBottle with Birds and Palmettes
Made FromGlass
Date800-999
Place MadeNear East; probably Persia; possibly Egypt
TechniqueBlown, cut, polished
SizeSurviving H: 15.5 cm, Diam (max): 10.2 cm
Accession Number55.1.135
Curatorial Area(s)
Exhibitions
Glass from the Ancient World
Antikes Glas aus der Sammlung Ray Winfield Smith: Kurpfalzischen Museum Heidelberg
Antikes Glas aus der Sammlung Ray Winfield Smith
Verres Antiques de la Collection R.W. Smith
Not On View
Physical DescriptionTranslucent deep blue. Blown; cut, ground, and polished. Bottle: globular. Neck tall and cylindrical; shoulder slopes, with rounded edge; base plain; no pontil mark. Neck, shoulder, and wall have relief-cut ornament, sometimes with double raised outlines: on lower neck, one continuous horizontal raised band; on shoulder, two shallow steps; on wall, broad continuous frieze of vegetal ornament with birds and other elements; and, at bottom of wall, two steps. Frieze has, at top, eight contiguous segmental arches, with one tear-shaped motif in each spandrel; descending from springing of each pair of arches is bifurcated vegetal scroll; one stem curves up to left and terminates in palmette, which fills underside of arch, while other descends and terminates in elongated half-palmette; palmettes have alternately three or five leaves and half-palmettes have three leaves. Lower part of frieze also contains four birdlike creatures; each bird is in two parts, separated by tip of half-palmette; front part (below palmette with five leaves) has round head with prominent eye, small beak, "ear," and curling crest at back, broad straight neck decorated with circular depressions, and triangular body decorated with one countersunk dot and horizontal hatching; rear part of bird (below palmette with three leaves) is shaped like "Paisley pine" leaf and is decorated with ring-and-dot motif and curved, transverse hatching; above each rear part is one S-shaped motif.Provenance
Source
Ray Winfield Smith
(American, 1897-1982) - 1955-09-21
