Pomegranate sprinkler, Syria, 250-320 AD

Period: Dating: 250 AD–320 AD Origin: Roman World, Eastern Roman World, Roman Syria Material: Glass (all types) Physical: 11.4cm. (4.5 in.) - 87 g. (3.1 oz.) Catalog: GLS.MM.00735 Links to other views: ⇒ Larger View ⇒ Bottom if scripting is off, click the ⇒ instead. • • • Links to others of type Sprinkler flask Glass sprinkler flask, Syria, 280-320 AD Glass sprinkler flask, Syria, 280-325 AD Herringbone sprinkler, Syria, 1-300 AD Herringbone sprinkler, Syria, 250-320 AD Iridescent pattern-blown sprinkler, Syria Iridescent sprinkler flask, Syria, 250-320 AD Iridescent sprinkler flask, Syria, 250-320 AD Iridescent sprinkler flask, Syria, 250-320AD Ribbed pattern-blown sprinkler flask, Syria Ribbed pattern-blown sprinkler flask, Syria Ribbed pattern-blown sprinkler flask, Syria Ribbed pattern-blown sprinkler flask, Syria Ribbed pattern-blown sprinkler flask, Syria Ribbed pattern-blown sprinkler flask, Syria Ribbed pattern-blown sprinkler flask, Syria Spiral pattern-blown sprinkler flask, Syria Spiral pattern-blown sprinkler flask, Syria Spiral pattern-blown sprinkler flask, Syria Spiral pattern-blown sprinkler flask, Syria Spiral pattern-blown sprinkler flask, Syria Spiral pattern-blown sprinkler flask, Syria Spiral pattern-blown sprinkler flask, Syria Spiral pattern-blown sprinkler flask, Syria Sprinkler glass flask, Syria, 280-320 AD Sprinkler glass flask, Syria, 280-320 AD

This “pomegranate” sprinkler was blown from transparent deep aquamarine glass. Beneath the thick, infolded, slightly angled rim, a straight neck meets the body with a constriction and a diaphragm. The ‘anatomically correct’ set of five pinched ribs and five pinched toes on the body depict the distinctive features of the calyx of a pomegranate. Prominent pontil mark. Syria, Eastern Roman Empire, late third to early fourth century AD. “The popularity of pomegranate-shaped sprinklers may have been inspired by the fruit’s symbolic association with beauty and fertility” (Stern, 2001). Parallel: Ernesto Wolf Collection #136 (Stern, 2001). Glass Sprinklers Sprinkers are bottles made with a constriction in the neck resembling a washer. This constriction regulates the flow of contents to a trickle, which is helpful with products that must be dispensed parcimoniously. The level of care in the decoration of sprinkers suggests that their contents were luxury items such as expensive fragrances. “[Sprinklers were] Made and widely used in Syria, Eastern Palestine, and Mesopotamia… The earliest sprinklers on record are those from Dura Europos in north Syria which date from before 256 when the city was abandoned… Production continued throughout the fourth century and perhaps into the fifth century. It has not been established when the sprinkler became obsolete. Syrian glassworkers made a large variety of vessels into sprinklers, simply by squeezing the neck with jacks and bushing the body up against the cut-in to create the diaphragm. Jars, tubes, amphorisks, and head-shaped flasks were occasionally finished as sprinklers” (Stern 2001:152). Bibliography (for this item) Fortuna Fine Arts, Ltd., 1991 Shining Vessels: Ancient Glass from Greek, Roman, and Islamic Times. Fortuna Fine Arts, Ltd., New York, NY. (52 # 83) Münzen und Medaillen, 1986 Auktion 70. Kunswerke der Antike. Münzen und Medaillen, Basel, Swizerland. (19 # 63 21-22 # 73) Stern, E. Marianne 2001 Roman, Byzantine, and Early Medieval Glass; 10 BCE-700 CE; Ernesto Wolf Collection. Hatje Cantz Publishers, Ostfildern-Ruit, Germany. Bibliography (on Glass Sprinklers) Stern, E. Marianne 2001 Roman, Byzantine, and Early Medieval Glass; 10 BCE-700 CE; Ernesto Wolf Collection. Hatje Cantz Publishers, Ostfildern-Ruit, Germany. (152)