Lot 100B
Roman, late Imperial / early Byzantine periods, ca. 5th to 8th century CE. A beautiful free-blown green glass goblet with a wide foot and short leg, a gently flaring body, a deep cavity, and a rolled rim. The body displays dozens of minute windswept swirls formed by delicately twisting the glass while still in a semi-molten state. The rim is slightly thickened, creating a lip, and it was probably pleasing to drink from this glass. Faint areas of silvery iridescence illuminate the vessel's pale-sage hue. Stemmed goblets like this example have been found alongside beakers, bottles, lamps, plates, bowls, and windows made of glass in archaeological sites throughout the Roman sphere of influence. Size: 2.7" W x 4.25" H (6.9 cm x 10.8 cm).
Glass blowing was invented in the Roman Empire around the end of the first century CE and revolutionized Roman household life. Suddenly glass was easy and cheap to produce, and Roman households rapidly replaced pottery with delicate, translucent glass. A goblet such as this one would have been used in an ordinary Roman household for drinking water or wine. It has survived the intervening centuries nearly intact and is a beautiful reminder of some of the similarities between our world and the Roman past.
For a similar example from the late Imperial / early Byzantine periods, please see the Metropolitan Museum of Art, accession number 74.51.241: https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/239826
Provenance: private Davis collection, Houston, Texas, USA; ex-Bonhams London Antiquities Auction, 8 May, 2013, lot 184; ex-private Dutch collection, acquired from Charles Ede Ltd., London, United Kingdom, in the early 2000s; ex-private Swiss collection, acquired in 1999
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#132755
- Condition: Surface wear commensurate with age, with light roughness under foot and on body, otherwise intact and choice. Light areas of silver patina across exterior surfaces.
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