Roman, Imperial Period, ca. 1st to 3rd century CE. A gorgeous jar of a broad form that is free blown from translucent glass of a soft seafoam-green hue. The vessel features a concave base with a rough pontil scar, a cylindrical body with a tapered shoulder and several pattern-molded vertical ribs, a corseted neck surmounted by a flared lip with an in-folded rim, and a trio of pulled trail handles arching from rim to shoulder. Both the interior and exterior surfaces are covered in layers of fiery silvery and rainbow-hued iridescence that elegantly complement the vessel's soft green color. Size: 3.9" W x 3.5" H (9.9 cm x 8.9 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, the Romans invented glass blowing in the 1st century BCE which 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 than metal or clay. Roman glassmakers reached incredible artistic heights with both free-blown vessels and mold blown forms and decorations.
Provenance: private New York, New York, USA collection; ex-private D.K. collection, New York, USA, acquired in Israel in the 2000s
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#153092
Condition
Minor nicks to handle terminals, with light encrustations and weathering film, small pitting holes in some areas, micro-bubbling within glass matrix, and flaking to iridescence, otherwise intact and near choice. Light earthen deposits as well as wonderful silver and rainbow iridescence throughout.