Roman, later Imperial Period, ca. late 3rd to 4th century CE. A fine mold-made glass pitcher of a transparent, pale-green color with a slight concave base, a tall, hexagonal-sided body, a rolled shoulder with a tubular neck, an everted and in-folded rim, and a wide applied trail handle joining rim to shoulder. The handle, made from a seafoam-hued glass, was applied and then double-folded before it was attached to the underside of the rim. The body has a dimpled, mold-formed texture. Pretty pearlescence is on the surface. Size: 2.9" W x 5.2" H (7.4 cm x 13.2 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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#133195
Condition
Neck/mouth has been repaired. One side of the vessel has a large, stable crack on its exterior. Pearlescence on surface, with some deposits visible on the interior. No pontil mark as this vessel is mold-made.