Glass jar with marvered trails

5th century CE or later
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 171
Uncertain translucent color; trail and pontil pad in opaque brownish red.

Thick, outsplayed rim, folded over, in, and pressed down into mouth; very short, concave, cylindrical neck; globular body; kick in bottom, with traces of pontil pad.

Single marvered trail applied as a large pad on bottom and wound up in a spiral eleven or more times over body and rim, then tooled into hanging festoons with seven upward tooling strokes.

Intact; pinprick bubbles on surface; thick creamy brown weathering and iridescence covering most of body with areas of pitting and dulling on exterior, but trail largely unweathered, soil encrustation and thick weathering on interior.

Other examples are said to be made from translucent yellowish brown glass.

A number of jars of this type are known, all probably from the same Syrian workshop. Their date, however, is less certain, and suggestions range from the 3rd to the 8th century A.D.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Glass jar with marvered trails
  • Period: Late Imperial, Early Byzantine, or Islamic
  • Date: 5th century CE or later
  • Culture: Roman, Syro-Palestinian
  • Medium: Glass; blown, trailed, and marvered
  • Dimensions: H.: 3 3/16 in. (8.1 cm)
  • Classification: Glass
  • Credit Line: H.O. Havemeyer Collection, Bequest of Mrs. H. O. Havemeyer, 1929
  • Object Number: 29.100.89
  • Curatorial Department: Greek and Roman Art

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