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Roman, Imperial Period, ca. 1st to 3rd century CE. A lovely free-blown glass cup adorned by elegant wheel marks around the exterior walls. The glass is almost colorless, with wonderful translucency and a tinge of yellow. The ancient Romans had a number of uses for beakers like this such as consuming wine, measuring amounts of certain liquids, or for scientific purposes, among others. Covered in faint areas of rainbow and silvery iridescence, this is a fabulous example from the Roman Empire! Size: 3.375″ in diameter x 3.625″ H (8.6 cm x 9.2 cm)
Pliny the Elder paid homage to the beauty of the many hues created in hand-blown glass, but pointed out that colorless translucent glass was the most coveted, “There is, furthermore, opaque white glass and others that reproduce the appearance of fluor-spar, blue sapphires or lapis lazuli, and, indeed, glass exists in any color . . . However, the most highly valued glass is colorless and transparent, as closely as possible resembling rock-crystal.” (Pliny, Natural History XXXVI.198 from “Solid Liquid” catalogue, Fortuna Fine Arts, New York, 1999, p. 64.)
Condition: Tiny nicks to rim. Weathering film and deposits as shown. Some internal bubbles that arose during the creation of the cup in antiquity. Nice rainbow and silvery iridescence.
Provenance: private East Coast, USA collection
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