Glass bottle in the shape of an animal

Glass bottle in the shape of an animal

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Translucent pale yellow green; handle, applied bits, and trail of uncertain color. Vessel shaped to resemble a quadruped. Rounded, thickened rim with slightly outsplayed lip; tubular neck that curves down and round with tooling indent at base; sloping shoulder; small cylindrical body, tooled in to form separate globular section for head; thick irregular bottom, tooled out to form mouth; small squared loop handle applied to side of body. Trail wound seven times in a spiral around neck; four short legs with pinched feet applied to body; two long applied bits on head for ears, and two small blobs for eyes. Handle on animal's back for suspension. One section of trail on neck, one ear, and part of mouth missing, all with weathered breaks; dulling, pitting, and iridescence on body, with thick creamy iridescent weathering on applied handle, bits, and trail. Considerable time and effort have been taken to transform this utilitarian bottle into an amusing work of art. The vessel’s body is in the shape of an animal’s head and body, and the neck has been fashioned as its upturned tail. Ears and feet have been added as decoration, and a loop for suspension rests atop the back of this diminutive creature, which may be identified as the edible dormouse, a delicacy much loved by the Romans.

Greek and Roman Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Glass bottle in the shape of an animalGlass bottle in the shape of an animalGlass bottle in the shape of an animalGlass bottle in the shape of an animalGlass bottle in the shape of an animal

The Museum's collection of Greek and Roman art comprises more than thirty thousand works ranging in date from the Neolithic period (ca. 4500 B.C.) to the time of the Roman emperor Constantine's conversion to Christianity in A.D. 312. It includes the art of many cultures and is among the most comprehensive in North America. The geographic regions represented are Greece and Italy, but not as delimited by modern political frontiers: Greek colonies were established around the Mediterranean basin and on the shores of the Black Sea, and Cyprus became increasingly Hellenized. For Roman art, the geographical limits coincide with the expansion of the Roman Empire. The department also exhibits the art of prehistoric Greece (Helladic, Cycladic, and Minoan) and pre-Roman art of Italic peoples, notably the Etruscans.