Jugs & Flasks
Jugs (Conventional)
“Vessels should be either earthenware or glass, and should be numerous rather than large.”
(Columella, On Agriculture XII.4)
If we could travel back in time, we would find a whole range of jugs in every Roman household. In the kitchen
there would be large ones with hefty strap-like handles, some just full of water, others standing among amphorae containing wine or olive oil,
to be used for decanting. Elsewhere, others would hold the oils of almond, sesame, and crushed olives that were used in the preparation of
cosmetics, while in the dining room there might be somewhat smaller ones which could be filled with wine to a guest’s specific taste. The
sturdiness that will have been these vessels’ selling point is what has ensured the survival of so many of them to modern times.
All glassware is shown at a scale of one-to-one unless otherwise stated.
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Detail from the 6th century A.D. Vergilius Romanus ms. |
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91-26-25
Possibly from Carthage (Tunisia)
Mid-to-late 1st century A.D.
Light green
Gift of Margaret Wasserman Levy |
91-26-2
Possibly from Carthage (Tunisia)
2nd century A.D.
Clear colorless
Gift of Margaret Wasserman Levy |
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MS 4959
Possibly from Nazareth (Israel)
Late 3rd-early 4th century A.D.
Light green; light green
Purchased from Vestor & Co. |
MS 5026
Possibly from Nazareth (Israel)
Late 3rd-early 4th century A.D.
Light green; light green
Purchased from Vestor & Co. |
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29-105-703
From Beth Shean (Israel), tomb 1
Late 4th century A.D.
Yellowish colorless
Excavated by G.M. Fitzgerald |
29-105-704
From Beth Shean (Israel), tomb 1
Late 4th century A.D.
Yellowish colorless
Excavated by G.M. Fitzgerald |
32-15-56
From Beth Shean (Israel), tomb 295
Late 4th century A.D.
Purple; light green
Excavated by G.M. Fitzgerald |
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38-28-87
Provenance unknown
4th century A.D.
Light green
Gift of John F. Lewis |
40-2-1
Provenance unknown
4th century A.D.
Light green
Gift of Mrs. Isaac H. Clothier, Jr. |
43-12-18
Provenance unknown
Late 4th century A.D.
Light green; light green
Bequest of Mrs. H. Markoe |
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86-35-26
Provenance unknown
4th century A.D.
Bluish green; bluish green
Gift of George & Henry J. Vaux |
MS 219
Provenance unknown
4th century A.D.
Light green; light green
Gift of John Harrison |
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MS 221
Provenance unknown
Mid-to-late 4th century A.D.
Light green; light green
Gift of John Harrison |
MS 4947
Possibly from Sejed (Israel)
4th century A.D.
Light green; light green
Purchased from Vestor & Co. |
MS 4952
Possibly from Aleppo (Syria)
4th century A.D.
medium amber; turquoise
Purchased from Vestor & Co. |
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MS 5027
Possibly from Nazareth (Israel)
4th century A.D.
Light green; light green
Purchased from Vestor & Co. |
MS 5125
Possibly from Beth Shean (Israel)
4th century A.D.
Light green; light green
Purchased from Vestor & Co. |
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MS 5129
Possibly from Aleppo (Syria)
4th century A.D.
Light green; turquoise
Purchased from Vestor & Co. |
MS 5130
Possibly from Aleppo (Syria)
4th century A.D.
Clear colorless; dark blue
Purchased from Vestor & Co. |
MS 5131
Provenance unknown
4th century A.D.
Clear colorless; dark blue
Purchased from Vestor & Co. |
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MS 5133
Possibly from Aleppo (Syria)
4th century A.D.
Medium amber; turquoise
Purchased from Vestor & Co. |
MS 5134
Possibly from Aleppo (Syria)
4th century A.D.
Medium amber; turquoise
Purchased from Vestor & Co. |
MS 5207
Possibly from Nazareth (Israel)
4th century A.D.
Light green; light green
Purchased from Vestor & Co. |
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MS 5218
Possibly from Nazareth (Israel)
4th century A.D.
Light green; light green
Purchased from Vestor & Co. |
MS 5493
Provenance unknown
4th century A.D.
Light green
Gift of Lydia T. Morris |
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MS 5604
Provenance unknown
4th century A.D.
Clear colorless (purple tinged)
Gift of Lydia T. Morris |
86-35-67
Provenance unknown
4th century A.D.
Clear colorless; light green
Gift of George & Henry J. Vaux |
MS 5639
Provenance unknown
Late 4th century A.D.
Greenish yellow; light green
Gift of Lydia T. Morris |
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86-35-28
Provenance unknown
Late 4th-early 5th century A.D.
Light green; light green
Gift of George & Henry J. Vaux |
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Flasks (Conventional)
“Glass vessels for eating and drinking are to be considered in the class of household goods, just as earthenware
vessels are, not only the common ones, but also those that are more costly.” (Paulus, The
Digest XXXIII.10)
Flasks, like jugs, were to be found in every Roman household, and often serving the same purpose,
as general storage vessels in the kitchen, as decanters of wine in the dining room, and as containers for oils used in cosmetic
preparations.
All glassware is shown at a scale of one-to-one unless otherwise stated. |
Juan van der Hamen y Léon's
Still
Life with Sweets and Glassware,
circa A.D. 1622 |
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74-10-4
Provenance unknown
4th century A.D.
Light green; light green
Bequest of Helen B. Scott |
86-35-25
Provenance unknown
4th century A.D.
Bluish colorless; bluish colorless
Gift of George & Henry J. Vaux |
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86-35-32
Provenance unknown
4th century A.D.
Light amber; royal blue
Gift of George & Henry J. Vaux |
MS 4946
Possibly from Beth Shean (Israel)
4th century A.D.
Light green; turquoise blue
Purchased from Vestor & Co. |
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MS 5503
Provenance unknown
4th century A.D.
Light green
Gift of Lydia T. Morris |
MS 5525
Provenance unknown
4th century A.D.
Clear colorless
Gift of Lydia T. Morris |
MS 5020
Possibly from Beth Shean (Israel)
5th-6th century A.D.
Clear colorless; light green
Purchased from Vestor & Co. |
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MS 5265
Provenance unknown
Early 6th century A.D.
Clear colorless
Purchased from Vestor & Co. |
38-28-68
Provenance unknown
Early 6th century A.D.
Clear colorless
Gift of John F. Lewis |
MS 5253
Possibly from Beth Shean (Israel)
5th-7th century A.D.
Light green; light green
Purchased from Vestor & Co. |
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Detail from a mid 15th century version of Pliny's Natural
History, Book XX
V&A MS.L. 1504-1896 |
Other Jugs & Flasks
“A couch
for three was set out in a garden screened from view. You ask how we were placed? I was between the two. Lygdamus was
in charge of the cups; there was a summer glassware service and Lesbian wine of choice vintage.” (Propertius, Elegies IV.8)
Besides those illustrated above, the Museum’s collections include several other kinds of jugs and flasks of quite uncertain function.
It is not too much a stretch of the imagination, however, to suggest that glass amphorae and bag-shaped flasks—all miniature versions
of pottery amphorae used in long-range trade—once contained the wine taken on picnics or day-long journeys.
All glassware is shown at a scale of one-to-one unless otherwise stated.
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MS 4994
Possibly from Nazareth (Israel)
Late 1st-early 2nd century A.D.
Dark blue
Purchased from Vestor & Co. |
MS 4975
Possibly from Beth Shean (Israel)
Late 3rd-early 4th century A.D.
Purple; opaque blue
Purchased from Vestor & Co. |
MS 4828
Possibly from Aleppo (Syria)
4th century A.D.
Light green
Gift of Michael Bomari |
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MS 5031
Provenance unknown
4th century A.D.
Clear colorless
Purchased from Vestor & Co. |
MS 5116
Possibly from Beth Shean (Israel)
4th century A.D.
Yellowish colorless; royal blue
Purchased from Vestor & Co. |
MS 5117
Provenance unknown
4th century A.D.
Light green; light green
Purchased from Vestor & Co. |
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MS 5132
Possibly from Aleppo (Syria)
4th century A.D.
Medium amber; turquoise
Purchased from Vestor & Co. |
MS 5250
Possibly from Nazareth (Israel)
4th century A.D.
Purple; dark blue
Purchased from Vestor & Co. |
MS 231
Provenance unknown
6th century A.D.
Light green; light green
Gift of John Harrison |
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