Roman, late Imperial Period, ca. 4th to mid-5th century CE. An attractive jug of a tall form that is free-blown from translucent glass of a pale blue-green hue. The broad vessel has a concave base with a rough pontil scar, a spherical body surmounted by a wide, cylindrical neck, and a rounded, in-folded lip. A trail of translucent green-yellow glass is first applied to the shoulder, pulled up, and connected to the side of the rim, and a thick trail of turquoise glass forms a wavy collar that encircles the neck. The body exhibits six petite pinched tabs with applied trails of vibrant blue-green glass arching above, drooping below, and draped thinly across each tab. Lovely silvery iridescence covers the entire jug and elegantly accentuates its gentle colors. Size: 3.7" W x 5.75" H (9.4 cm x 14.6 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: East Coast collection, New York Gallery, New York City, New York, USA, acquired before 2010
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#154186
Condition
Minor abrasions and nicks to base, applied glass trails, handle and rim, with a couple of stable hairline fissures stemming from rim, light encrustations, micro-bubbling within glass matrix, and some weathering film, otherwise intact and excellent. Nice earthen deposits as well as great silver iridescence throughout.