Roman, Imperial Period, ca. 2nd to 4th century CE. A stunning hand-blown glass vessel of very rare coloring - aubergine, named for the dark purple color of an eggplant's skin, but also conjuring the rich violet hues of grapes and wine, favorite delicacies of the ancients associated with Bacchus (Dionysos) - god of wine, pleasure, ritual madness, ecstasy, and theatre! The vessel boasts an elegant attenuated form with a diminutive neck that dramatically flares to a funnel mouth. The body rests on a dimpled bottom with the remains of a pontil. Adding another aspect to the beauty of this piece, the surface is graced by areas of rainbow and pearlescent iridescence. Size: 2.25" in diameter x 4.625" H (5.7 cm x 11.7 cm)
For collectors of Roman glass, some colors are more prized than others. The brilliance of aubergine is certainly among these. In addition to this vessel's beautiful hue, its form is most elegant. The following quote poetically describes the artistic process of creating free-blown glass in ancient Rome, "First he heated the very point of the iron, then snatched from nearby a lump of bright glass and placed it skillfully within the hollow furnace. And the crystal as it tasted the heat of the fire was softened by the strokes of Hephaestus like . . .he blew in from his mouth a quick breath . . . .like a man essaying the most delightful art of the flute. The glass received the force of his breath and became swollen out around itself like a sphere before it. It would receive another onslaught of the divine breath, for often swinging it like an ox-herd his crook he would breath into . . ." ( P. Oxy. 50.3536, a third century poem on glass blowing - R.A. Coles, Oxyrhynchus Papyri 50 (1983), p. 58 from "Solid Liquid" catalogue, Fortuna Fine Arts, New York, 1999, p. 56)
Provenance: private East Coast, USA collection
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#135619
Condition
Intact with light encrustation on interior and rainbow and pearlescent patina on surface.