- Title
- Jug with Jewish Symbols
- Date Made
- late 6th - early 7th century
- Medium
- Mold-blown glass
- Dimensions
- 4 5/8 x 2 3/4 in. (11.7 x 7 cm)
- Accession Number
- M.88.129.77
- Collecting Area
- European Painting and Sculpture: Greek and Roman
- Curatorial Notes
This amber-colored jug belongs to an intriguing group of glass vessels ascribed to seventh-century Jerusalem that share similar forms and technique, suggesting they are the products of a single workshop. Such glassware, primarily squat, hexagonal jars or jugs, can be divided into three groups based on their decoration depicting either Jewish, Christian, or Muslim symbols. On this vessel is a menorah flanked by a shofar, or ram’s horn, both ancient symbols of Judaism. The cross is the main identifying element on Christian examples (see M.88.129.80 for a related bottle), while the Muslim vessels, the rarest type, display symbols found on some of the earliest Islamic coins. In all instances, the decoration was delineated in the glass mold. They are sometimes referred to as pilgrim flasks, reflecting the shared sanctity of Jerusalem among the three monotheistic faiths, and are thought to have contained oil or a viscous liquid associated with some aspect of pilgrimage particular to each religion. Important evidence is provided by another group of pilgrim vessels composed of ampuls that carry Greek inscriptions referring to oil from the “Holy Places of Christ.”
2024
- Selected Bibliography
- Saldern, Axel von. Glass 500 B.C. to A.D. 1900: The Hans Cohn Collection. Mainz: Philipp von Zabern, 1980.