inlay

Object NameMosaic Plaque with Brothel Keeper

Made FromGlass

Date25 BCE-75 CE

Place MadeRoman Empire; possibly Egypt, Alexandria

TechniqueMosaic glass technique

SizeOverall H: 2.8 cm, W: 2.4 cm

Accession Number66.1.78

Curatorial Area(s)

Ancient

Exhibitions

Designs in Miniature: The Story of Mosaic Glass

The Lure of Egypt: Land of the Pharaohs Revisited

On ViewAncient Gallery

Interpretive Notes

Web Text

The Brothel Keeper was a character in the type of Greek drama known as New Comedy.

Physical DescriptionMosaic Plaque with Brothel Keeper. Canes of opaque yellow, opaque brick-red, opaque white and translucent amethyst glass in a translucent yellow-green matrix, bubbly with some black stone and surface pitting; mosaic glass technique. Plaque formed of two identical halves mounted in a modern gilt paper binder; a fantastic theatrical mask consisting of a yellow face with elements delineated in amethyst; eyes are formed of amethyst centers with concentric circles of yellow, amethyst, and white on a red ground; an amethyst liner and eyelash, and an alternating opaque white and opaque yellow eyebrow; the mouth is amethyst surrounded by brick-red and a mustache of alternating opaque white and colorless canes along with colorless strokes indicating lines on the cheek; hair formed of triangular canes of opaque white set in colorless glass and outlined with an opaque white cane, the hair and beard terminate in long thin streaks.
Provenance

Source Sergio Sangiorgi (Italian) - 1966

Former Collection Giorgio Sangiorgi (Italian, 1886-1965)