Herringbone sprinkler, Syria, 250-320 AD

Period: Dating: 250 AD–320 AD Origin: Roman World, Eastern Roman World, Roman Syria Material: Glass (all types) Physical: 9cm. (3.5 in.) - 46 g. (1.6 oz.) Catalog: GLS.SS.00731 Links to other views: ⇒ Larger View 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 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 Pomegranate sprinkler, Syria, 250-320 AD 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

Blown from transparent green glass, this sprinkler flask is decorated with a dimpled herringbone pattern. The large angled rim was rounded in flame, the thick neck is tubular with a constriction and diaphragm where it meets the body. The body evokes the shape and texture of a very ripe fig. The bottom is flat with a pontil scar. Syria, Eastern Roman Empire, late third to early fourth century AD. Munzen and Medaillen (1986) shows a very similar object as 2nd. - 3rd. century, but Stern (2001) asserts that the earliest sprinklers known date from around 250 AD. Parallel: “Gutturnium (sprinkler flask). Syrian, 2nd. - 3rd. century AD” (Münzen und Medaillen 1986:18 #72). 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) Münzen und Medaillen, 1986 Auktion 70. Kunswerke der Antike. Münzen und Medaillen, Basel, Swizerland. (19 # 72) 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)