Roman, early Imperial Period, ca. 1st century BCE to 1st century CE. A beautiful glass phiale style libation bowl with delicate, undulating ribbed walls made from a dark amber hued color that appears aubergine in certain lighting. The thick walls have developed soft pearlescent iridescence from over the ages. This style of glass is known as "pillar-molded" as it refers to the production technique, where the shape of the bowl was determined by taking a flat sheet of pliable glass and placing it into a solid mold upside-down; this glass was then worked so that it slipped and sagged over the mold to create the exterior ribs. Bowls like this one were used as part of the Roman "cena," or dinner. Size: 4.5" Diameter x 2.25" H (11.4 cm x 5.7 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: East Coast collection, New York Gallery, New York City, New York, USA, acquired before 2010
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#182332
Condition
Chip and surface abrasion to interior near rim and stable fissures to this area. Light mineral and earthen deposits throughout. Nice iridescence.