Roman, early Imperial Period, ca. 1st century CE. A gorgeous free-blown, translucent glass bowl of a vibrant yellow-green hue with a small but stable base, gradually-expanding walls decorated with a trio of horizontal wheel-cut striations, and a flared rim which was broken off and ground until smooth to the touch. This type of mastoid-shaped vessel was likely used for drinking wine based on the elegant and uncomplicated presentation. A fabulous example from the early Roman Empire! Size: 3.7" W x 2.75" H (9.4 cm x 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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#135618
Condition
Surface wear and minor abrasions commensurate with age, very minor nicks to rim and base, with some micro-bubbles within, and light roughness around rim exterior, otherwise intact and near-choice. Light earthen deposits throughout, and old inventory sticker residue beneath base.