Ancient Roman Olive-Green Glass Bowl

£ 2,750.00

A fine Roman, olive-green, translucent, blown glass dish featuring a deep, hemispherical bowl. The bowl’s sloping sides lead to a rounded rim which has been folded out. The vessel rests on a large, circular and waisted foot.  A very fine example, with beautiful translucent glass.

Date: Circa 1st Century AD - 3rd Century AD
Provenance: Ex J.L. collection, Surrey. Previously acquired from an important Japanese collection (deceased), 1970-2000.
Condition: Extremely fine condition. Mostly translucent. Some faint encrustation near the rim.

SOLD

SKU: AG-16 Category: Tag:

Glass production evolved during the Roman Empire with the introduction of glassblowing, which allowed for a great variety of different shapes and styles to be constructed. The technique allowed for easier manipulation of the glass into more intricate designs allowing the vessels to have an assortment of functions. Glassblowing also allowed for a quicker paced production, the hot glass would be blown into a mould and then removed whilst still hot so that the glass maker could still work on it. Roman glass is formed from sand (quartz) which naturally contained alumina and lime. The lime acted as a stabiliser, so that the glass was not porous. Sodium Carbonate, in the form of natron, was also added to lower the melting point. The only surplus components then found are additional elements used to colour the glass. Different minerals were added to create a variety of colours; the green colouring seen in this piece would have been intensified by the addition of copper.

To find out more about Roman glass please see our relevant blog post: Ancient Roman Glass and Collecting Roman Glass.

Weight 228 g
Dimensions L 18 x H 7 cm
Culture

Glass

Region

Reference: For Similar: Christie’s Auction House, New York, Auction 2364, Antiquities Including Property from The Collection of Max Palevsky, 9th December 2010, lot 73

You may also like…