Serçe Limani, Vol 2: The Glass of an Eleventh-Century Shipwreck

CHAPTER 39: Handles and Handle- Like Objects

# C H A P T E R 39 Handles and Handle-Like Objects Sheila D. Matthews and Berta Lledó Illustrated by Sheila Matthews After years of diligent repair, a large quantity of the Serçe Limanı glass, mostly body fragments, remains unrestored. Because handles are usually thicker and more durable than the vessels to which they are attached, it is not surprising that they occasionally remain the only intelligible traces of vessels otherwise smashed into anonymity. The Serçe Limanı wreck contained some 82 handles and handle-like objects and 222 fragments that decades of pieceby -piece reconstruction have been unable to match with certainty to any of the vessel types (Fig. 39-1). In this chapter we separate them into categories and suggest the range of possibilities for the types of vessels to which some were attached. The distribution of these handles and fragments shows a random scatter throughout the cargo area. The handles are divided here into true handles (Type I), both long and short; prunts (Type II), or decorative pseudohandles , with pinched, scalloped, and pressed subtypes; and miscellaneous (Type III). Despite their diversity in shape and size, the Serçe Limanı handles share some characteristics; most significant, the majority have thumb rests. It seems that handles were generally made from the same batches that predominate in the Serçe Limanı glass, taking into account that glass thickness affects perceived color; even when a vessel with handle(s) was clearly made from the same batch of glass, the handle(s) often appears darker than the rest of the vessel. Some handles, on the other hand, were clearly made from glass different from that of their vessels’ walls, such as a dark green handle on a light amber body, a purple handle on a yellow-green body, a green handle on an amber body, or a yellow-green handle on a purple body. Some six handles and decorative handles were made from opaque colors that seem to be similar to the opaque or dark colors used for trailing. This suggests an attempt to add a decorative tint to a functional element. The terms used for the various parts of a handle are illustrated in Fig. 39-2. TYPE I. HANDLE S Type IA. Long Handles: Possibly from Jugs or Ewers Handles that unequivocally belong to ewers or jugs are included in chapters 25 and 26. Those grouped here include handles and fragments which, although having similar characteristics , cannot be identified as belonging to either vessel type with certainty. Jug handles tend to be distinguished from ewer handles by the angle of the lower attachment to its stem; this angle is less on ewer handles than on jug handles, which often rise almost perpendicularly to the attachment (see chapters 25 and 26). Detached handles of this sort have been unearthed from Samara to Dvin. Two possible ewer handles, both amber, and two probable jug handles, both yellow-green, can be identified among 412 part xi: vessel fragments the complete handles. Other candidates are 115 fragments of stems, thumb rests, connectors, and attachments: 73 yellowgreen , 27 amber, 12 green, two blue-green, and one purple. Some fragments are noteworthy. Two pieces, a blue-green and a yellow-green, are reminiscent of the handle on jug JG 27 (chapter 26). This type of handle was made from a tripartite band formed by fusing three rods together side by side. The upper portion was folded and crimped to form the thumb Fig. 39-1. Handles. (Photo by Kathy May) rest. A fragmentary example of this type (HN 1, GW 1627, Fig. 39-3) distinctly shows the fold. An amber thumb rest fragment had its edges cut to form a triangle (HN 2, GW 1624, Fig. 39-3), as seen also on some of the finest pieces from the wreck (e.g., EW 40, chapter 25). Another amber fragment (HN 3, GW 1629, Fig. 39-3) exhibits two thumb rests of uneven height formed with minimal tooling and very light pressing. handles and handle-like objects 413 one purple, four dark blue, two opaque dark blue-green, two emerald green, one opaque dark green, and one turquoise. TYPE II. PRUNTS, OR DECORATIVE PSEUDO-HANDLES Type IIA. Pinched Prunts This type of prunt is formed by pinching together a tiny portion of the body wall (e.g., HN 10, GW 1558, Fig. 39-3 [Paola Pugsley]). Only two examples were found, one yellow...