It was hand blown over an open flame. Thus, the maker was free to make any
shape that pleased them. There was no mold, just their aesthetic eye at work.
Syria was a Roman province, annexed in 64 BC by Pompey, as a consequence of his military
presence after pursuing victory in the Third MithridaticWar. It remained under Roman,
and subsequently Byzantine, rule for seven centuries, until 637 when it
fell to the Islamic conquests. In the Roman period, the great city of Antioch (called
"the Athens of the east" at that time) was the capital of Syria. It was the third
largest city in the empire after Rome and Alexandria.
With estimated population of 500,000 at its peak, Antioch was one of the
major centres of trade and industry in the ancient world. As one of the
wealthiest and more populous provinces of the Roman Empire, it is estimated
that the population of Syria in the early Roman Empire was only exceeded in
the 19th century. Syria is also significant in the history of Christianity; Paul
was converted on the Road to Damascus and established the first organized
Christian Church at Antioch in ancient Syria, from which he left on many of
his missionary journeysI did a geometric analysis of the vase to test a theory.
The theory is that PHI (1.618....), nature’s prime building block ratio of “part
to whole” is intrinsic to our souls. So much so that when one wants to
make a thing that’s beautiful, they will employ the tools of nature.
Beauty being a sound or thing that resonates with the naturally occurring
ratio, PHI, found in all of nature and the heavens. Plato (428/427 BC–
348/347 BC), said PHI was the "Soul of the Universe".
I believe that a person making something to be beautiful, will inherently
make the thing a progression of PHI because the eye or ear will resonate
with it. And in so doing it's appeal will be universal and a pleasure.
The analysis indicates that this is true for this object. As you can see it is a
Root 5 rectangle; that is 1unit by the square root of 5; Or 1 unit (the base
width in this case) by 2.336 units tall.
This is a classic proportion used extensively by the Greeks and Romans in
art and architecture.
For example:
Parthenon’s plan shape is a Root 5 rectangle. The elevation is a slightly
more complex progression but the root 5 rectangle is used for establishing
the width and the height to the top of the freeze.
The attached shows the analysis and the inter relationship of PHI
rectangles.
By the way, to make a PHI rectangle you start from a square the basic 1 by 1
static form. We say that the ratio PHI allows nature to go from the "one to
the many" with harmony. The "one' is the square and the progression is the
construction of PHI and growing the forms with PHI as in the famous
Spiral. The Spiral is from a square progressing from one to the next by way
of PHI. there for all shapes will have the same relative ratios and that
number is an infinite number, never-ending and never repeating.
www.ericstengelarchitecture.com
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