fragment

Object Name20 Fragments of Gold Band Glass Vessels

Made FromGlass

Date50 BCE-25 CE

TechniqueMosaic or gold band glass technique, lathe-cut

SizeSee Individual Records

Accession Number59.1.587

Curatorial Area(s)

Ancient

Place Made

Roman Empire; probably Alexandria

Physical DescriptionTranslucent deep blue, emerald green and amethyst glass bands with opaque white bands and colorless bands casing gold foil, most fragments are dull, pitted and retain patches of thin iridescent weathering crust; mosaic or gold band glass technique, lathe-cut. No fragment retains sufficient pattern to reconstruct design and band configuration. (a) Shallow bowl, rounded rim with lathe-cut relief line on exterior, wall bends down and in to form convex body as far as preserved; (b) bowl, rounded rim with lathe-cut groove immediately below on exterior, wall bends in gently to form shallow convex profile; (c) bowl, similar to (b), rounded rim with relief-cut groove somewhat lower on exterior, wall bends down and in to form shallow bowl as far as preserved; (d) pyxis, fragment preserves part of vessel floor and wall, composed of alternating strips of multi-layered ribbons, the floor and wall are formed of an opaque yellow ribbon sandwich between ribbons of transparent green; a narrow opaque white and opaque yellow line separate this band from the adjacent one which is composed of flower canes of translucent green outlined in yellow in a translucent green matrix, these canes alternate with gold band canes which have not been scratched or shattered but present a regular foil surface; (e) patella cup, rounded rim accented by lathe-cut groove on exterior bends in and down to form a collar above body, transition between collar and body also marked by lathe-cut groove on exterior, wall bends in and down as far as preserved; (f) cup, fragment preserves part of truncated conical body and collar below rim; (g) pyxis, fragment of body and part of cylindrical wall, thin groove cut just above base on body; (h) bottle, fragment preserves part of bottom and wall with lathe-cut groove highlighting transition on exterior; (i) bottle, fragment preserves bottom and part of wall, a pair of concentric lathe-cut grooves have been cut to outline the bottom; (j) bottle, fragment preserves lower part of vessel wall before it bends in and down toward base, transitions are all highlighted by lathe-cut grooves; (k) bottle, fragment preserves section of shoulder and vessel wall which spreads out into a truncated conical form, a lathe-cut groove highlights the transition at the shoulder; (l) bottle (?), fragment preserves part of vessel wall with twelve horizontal grooves cut one next to the other, probably represents an unfinished vessel which was broken during manufacture and never polished smooth. There are eight additional fragments which are broken on all four sides and which cannot be positively assigned to any particular vessel form.
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