Fish

What is AAT?

The Art & Architecture Thesaurus (AAT) (r) is a structured vocabulary for generic concepts related to art and architecture. It was developed by The Getty Research Institute to help research institutions become consistent in the terminology they use.Learn More

Object Name: 
Fish
Place Made: 
Roman Empire
probably Eastern Mediterranean
Accession Number: 
55.1.94
Dimensions: 
Overall (when longest stripes on body are horizontal) H: 9.9 cm, W: 22.5 cm, Th: 2.8 cm
Location: 
Not on Display
Date: 
200-299
Primary Description: 
Almost colorless glass, but with yellowish green tint; blown (parison blown in dip mold, withdrawn, and inflated to full size and shape), applied. Flask in form of fish with deep, narrow body, which has faint horizontal ribs (five on one side, six on other). Mouth open and beak-like, formed by tooling; eyes probably represented by blobs (lost, but scar may indicate position of one) and gills by trail wound once around body; dorsal fin consists of long trail applied to top of head above gills, drawn back along body, and pinched into 17 narrow projections; two pinched blobs on sides of body behind gills represent pectoral fins and two additional pinched blobs near “tail” also represent fins; “tail” consists of tubular neck which curves back and up, and terminates in plain, rounded rim; upper neck is decorated with single continuous trail.

More Info

Department: 
Ancient
Provenance: 
Smith, Ray Winfield (American, 1897-1982), Source
1955-09-09
Category: 
Roman
Color: 
yellowish green
colorless
Technique: 
glassblowing
hot-working
applied decoration
Material: 
glass

Exhibitions (6)

Poseidon and the Sea: Myth, Cult, and Daily Life
Venue(s)
Joslyn Art Museum 2014-02-08 through 2014-05-11
Tampa Museum of Art 2014-06-14 through 2014-11-30
Hood Museum of Art 2015-01-17 through 2015-03-15
The realm of Poseidon, the Greek god of the sea, encompassed virtually every aspect of life in the ancient Mediterranean world, from mythology and cult to daily activities. Each of these three domains will be explored in the exhibition, which will be the first of its type anywhere. The exhibition will offer an intimate look at the timeliness, beauty and wonder of marine life sure to resonate with lay visitors of all ages. All of the CMoG objects would be displayed in the final section of the exhibition, showing the influence of the sea in ancient art and life.
Steuben Glass Animals
Venue(s)
Steuben Glass, Inc. 1988-11 through 1988-11
 
Glass from the Ancient World
Venue(s)
Corning Museum of Glass 1957-06-04 through 1957-09-15
Ancient Art in American Private Collections
Venue(s)
Fogg Art Museum 1954
 
Antikes Glas aus der Sammlung Ray Winfield Smith: Kurpfalzischen Museum Heidelberg
Venue(s)
Kurpfalzischen Museum 1952-11 through 1953
Antikes Glas aus der Sammlung Ray Winfield Smith
Venue(s)
Museum Dahlem 1951-09 through 1951-11
 

Publications (9)

Poseidon and the Sea (2014) illustrated, p. 151, Fig. 74; BIB# 134837
Molten Color: Glassmaking in Antiquity (2011) illustrated, p.109, fig. 77; pp. 102-103; BIB# 121973
Roman Glass in The Corning Museum of Glass, Volume Two (2001) pp. 199-200, pl. 754; BIB# 58895
Glass Animals: 3500 Years of Artistry (1988) illustrated, leaf 26; BIB# 3398
Glass from the Ancient World: The Ray Winfield Smith Collection (1957) illustrated, pp. 162-163, #335; BIB# 27315
Ancient Art in American Private Collections: A Loan Exhibition at the Fogg Art Museum of Harvard University, December 28, 1954-February 15, 1955 (1954) #362; BIB# 19297
Antikes Glas aus der Sammlung Ray Winfield Smith (Heidelberg) (1952) p. 10 (#24); BIB# 31788
Berliner Museen : Berichte aus den preuszischen Kunstsammlungen (1951) illustrated, p. 51, #3-4; BIB# 37955
Antikes Glas aus der Sammlung Ray Winfield Smith (Museum Dahlem) (1951) p. 7 (#24); BIB# 31796