Roman, Imperial Period, ca. 1st to 3rd century CE. An absolutely STUNNING free-blown glass vessel comprised of translucent pale blue-green glass with rainbow iridescence presenting a very striking silhouette. The foot is rounded with an everted border above it and a concave base below. The body is tubular with a subtle entasis and rises to a flared mouth with a rolled rim. In addition to this pleasing form, the glass presents an astonishing amount of rainbow iridescence that complements its soft spring-like hues! Size: 3.5" in diameter at widest point x 3.8" H (8.9 cm x 9.7 cm)
Most scholars agree, Roman glass was of the highest quality - both aesthetically and technically - among the ancients. While glass making had been practiced for centuries, glass blowing was invented in the Roman-controlled Holy Land in the 1st century BCE. This innovative technology revolutionized the artform. We can appreciate such a wide variety of forms and shapes, because the medium of glass has unique physical properties that make for so many more possibilities which would eventually replace a wide variety of pottery and metal wares in the ancient world. Roman glassmakers reached incredible artistic heights with both free-blown vessels and mold blown forms and decorations and were traded far beyond the Roman Empire. Roman glass vessels have been found in Scandinavia, India, and in Han Dynasty tombs in China.
Provenance: private East Coast, USA collection
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#143449
Condition
There is a small internal fissure and an everted bubble just below the rim. Attractive internal microbubbles in areas. There is no sign of a pontil mark on the base which suggests that the piece was mold-blown or that the pontil mark has worn away over time. Earthen deposits commensurate with age. Astonishing amount of rainbow iridescence.