CIRCA 6TH-7TH CENTURY A.D.

Details

A BYZANTINE DARK AMBER HEXAGONAL GLASS PITCHER
CIRCA 6TH-7TH CENTURY A.D.
5 7⁄8 in. (14.9 cm.) high

Provenance

Thomas Barlow Walker (1840-1928), Minneapolis; thence by bequest to the Walker Art Center, Minneapolis.
Antiquities and Oriental Art: The Thomas Barlow Walker Collection, Sold for the Benefit of the Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, Sotheby Parke Bernet, New York, 26-28 September 1972, lot 136.
Sheldon and Barbara Breitbart, New York and Arizona.
The Breitbart Collection of Antiquities and Ancient Glass, Sotheby's, New York, 20 June 1990, lot 111.
Jack (1930-1996) and Jane (1936-2021) Weprin, New York, acquired from the above; thence by descent to the current owner.

Literature

M.S. Newby, The Shlomo Moussaieff Collection: Byzantine Mould-Blown Glass from The Holy Land with Jewish and Christian Symbols, London, 2008, p. 76, n. 34.

Special notice

This lot is offered without reserve.

Conditions of sale

Brought to you by

Hannah Fox Solomon Head of Department, Specialist

hsolomon@christies.com +1 212 636 2256

Lot Essay

Mold-blown polygonal jugs and jars with Jewish or Christian symbols are thought to have been made in the vicinity of Jerusalem. The panels are in sunk relief and enclosed within a border of small circular depressions. This Christian example, hexagonal in form, features three panels with large concentric lozenges each separated by a unique panel including one with a cross fourchée set above three graduated steps, one with a cross fourchée set on three stepped elliptical rings, and one with a cross on a rod emerging from a stylized foliate pattern. For a recent discussion of the types and for similar examples, see Newby, op. cit.

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