Glass one-handled hexagonal bottle
An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art
Translucent light blue with greenish tinge; handle in same color. Thick rim, partially tubular, folded out, down, round, and in; cylindrical neck, flaring downwards, with slightly convex profile; horizontal shoulder, slightly pushed in towards center, and sloping rounded shoulders; hexagonal body, with flat, vertical sides; slightly concave bottom; broad strap hand, reeded on exterior surface, attached to edge of shoulder above one side, drawn up vertically, then turned in at an acute handle, and trailed on to neck, with trail in folds extending upwards to underside of rim. On base, four concentric circles in relief. Intact, but one short internal crack in rim; bubbles, including many large and elongated bubbles in handle, and blowing striations, some horizontal scratches around neck; slight dulling and patches of faint iridescent weathering. This large handled bottle has been preserved because it was buried in a Roman tomb, said to have been found at Coriallum in northern Gaul (modern Cherbourg, France). It may have been used as a cinerary urn, although its shape clearly indicates that it was originally intended for daily use as a receptacle for liquids.
Greek and Roman Art
An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Museum's collection of Greek and Roman art comprises more than thirty thousand works ranging in date from the Neolithic period (ca. 4500 B.C.) to the time of the Roman emperor Constantine's conversion to Christianity in A.D. 312. It includes the art of many cultures and is among the most comprehensive in North America. The geographic regions represented are Greece and Italy, but not as delimited by modern political frontiers: Greek colonies were established around the Mediterranean basin and on the shores of the Black Sea, and Cyprus became increasingly Hellenized. For Roman art, the geographical limits coincide with the expansion of the Roman Empire. The department also exhibits the art of prehistoric Greece (Helladic, Cycladic, and Minoan) and pre-Roman art of Italic peoples, notably the Etruscans.