FROM THE WORKSHOP OF THE FLOATING HANDLES, CIRCA 1ST CENTURY A.D.

Details

A ROMAN LIGHT TURQUOISE GLASS JUG WITH BASKET WEAVE PATTERN
FROM THE WORKSHOP OF THE FLOATING HANDLES, CIRCA 1ST CENTURY A.D.
The body blown into a two-part mould in the shape of an amphora encased within a wickerwork basket, with a rope around the shoulder and a wreath of laurel and berries around the middle of the basket, with mould seam on underside of base, tall neck and everted, inward-folded rim, handle applied under the rim, pulled down to the shoulder but not attached

3 1/8 in. (8 cm.) high

Provenance

Acquired prior to 2000.

Exhibited

The Israel Museum, Jerusalem, Made by Ennion: Ancient Glass Treasures from the Shlomo Moussaieff Collection, May-December 2011.

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Francesca Hickin

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Lot Essay

PUBLISHED:
Y. Israeli, Made by Ennion: Ancient Glass Treasures from the Shlomo Moussaieff Collection, exhibition cat. (Israel Museum), Jerusalem, 2011, p. 84.

The normal practice of applying handles was to first attach the glass to the body of the vessel and then draw the glass upwards and attach at the rim. The Workshop of the Floating Handles did the opposite - the handles were drawn down, but not attached to the body - hence they floated above the surface. The basket weave design is imitating the actual practice of encasing glass vessels to protect them during transportation. Numerous parallels with either one or two handles survive. See Matheson, 1980, pp. 50-51, no. 128 for a single-handled type; for a recent study on the Workshop, see Stern, 1992.

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