Roman, Imperial Period, ca. 1st to 3rd century CE. A sizeable Roman glass amphora, the body presenting an ample apple shape with a funnel mouth, all in golden yellow hues with marvelous translucency, with twin generous trailed handles joining rim to shoulder in complementary aqua blue green hues. Beautiful iridescence of rainbow hues as well as elegant diagonal striations created when the glass was blown and swirled by the artist imbue the vessel with the utmost beauty. An absolutely exquisite example! Size: 4.75" W handle span x 4.875" H (12.1 cm x 12.4 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 during 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: ex-Christie's New York, December 11, 2009, Lot 71 (1 of 5 glass artifacts)
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#151100
Condition
Vessel is intact and in overall excellent condition. Areas of earthen deposits and traces of root marks on the side wall. Furthermore, gorgeous rainbow iridescence graces the surface. There is a pontil mark on underside of base. A pontil scar or mark indicates that a vessel was free-blown, while the absence of such a mark suggests that the work was either mold-blown or that the mark was intentionally smoothed away or wore away over time.