Fine Roman Glass Trefoil Jug w/ Honeycomb Pattern

Roman, late Imperial Period, ca. late 3rd to 4th century CE. A delicate pouring jug formed from translucent glass of a pale yellow-green hue. The vessel features a concave base with a rough pontil scar, an inverted piriform body atop a flared foot, and a tapered neck. Surrounding the body are dozens of shallow impressions arranged in a honeycomb pattern formed during the formative process using a pattern-laden tool. A pinched, trefoil-style pouring spout with an out-folded lip surmounts the neck, and a hollow, tubular trail of similarly colored glass is pulled between the rim and shoulder to form the handle. Faint areas of silvery and rainbow-hued iridescence have formed across the vessel and elegantly accentuate its gentle spring green hues. Size: 2.625" W x 6.875" H (6.7 cm x 17.5 cm); 8.2" H (20.8 cm) on included custom stand.

For a stylistically similar example with applied glass trails around the neck, please see The Metropolitan Museum, accession number 81.10.182.

For another stylistically similar example resting on an applied foot, please see "Solid Liquid: Greek, Roman, Byzantine and Islamic Glass." Fortuna Fine Arts, Ltd., New York, 1999, p. 97, fig. 180.

Provenance: private East Coast, USA collection, acquired in 2015; ex-Arte Primitivo Gallery, New York, New York, USA; ex-Elinor Katz collection, purchased in the 1970s from Barakat Antiquities, Jerusalem, Israel

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#154202
Condition Report: Petite area of loss to base of handle, with small chips and a few stable fissures along break lines. Minor abrasions to base, body, handle, and spout, with micro-bubbling within glass matrix, and light encrustations and weathering film. Pontil mark on underside of base. A pontil scar or mark indicates that a vessel was free-blown, while the absence of such a mark suggests that the work was either mold-blown or that the mark was intentionally smoothed away or wore away over time. Nice earthen deposits as well as light silver and rainbow iridescence throughout.