bottle
Object NameBottle
Made FromGlass, Gold Foil
Dateabout 1-50
Place MadeRoman Empire
Techniquecast, manipulated, lathe-cut
SizeOverall H: 7.3 cm, Diam (max): 4.3 cm
Accession Number59.1.87
Curatorial Area(s)
Exhibitions
Glass from the Ancient World
Glass of the Caesars
On ViewAncient Gallery
Interpretive NotesGold-band glass is the most elaborate and unusual variety of ribbon glass. Strips of gold foil were laminated between ribbons of colorless glass. Precisely how these vessels were formed is still uncertain. Perhaps groups of ribbons were fused in sinuous patterns, after which the fused elements were laid side by side in a mold, fused again, and shaped by tooling. We do know that, after annealing, the vessels were finished by grinding away irregularities. The most common types, miniature bottles and cylindrical boxes with lids, were produced in Italy during the first century A.D.
Provenance
Source
Ray Winfield Smith
(American, 1897-1982) - 1959-07-27