Roman, Imperial Period, ca. 3rd to 4th century CE. A fabulous free-blown transparent glass bowl of a pale yellow-green hue with a concave ringed foot with a smooth pontil scar, wide rolling walls, a slight indentation around a raised circular center, and a thin folded rim. The interior disc has a recessed center, likely used for containing garum, a salty fermented fish sauce used for complementing the taste of certain small fish. Vessels like this were used for all courses of a typical Roman evening meal known as "cena," however it would be best suited for serving small appetizers or salted fish (the course called "gustum"). The transparent appearance of this vessel is only impeded by scattered areas of thick, fiery, rainbow-hued iridescence. A wonderful example from the height of the Roman Empire! Size: 9.3" W x 2.45" H (23.6 cm x 6.2 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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#135684
Condition
Surface wear and minor abrasions commensurate with age as expected, some unevenness to foot and rim, and light roughness across most surfaces, otherwise intact and excellent. Light earthen deposits throughout and scattered areas of beautiful rainbow iridescence.