As the Roman Empire progressed and expanded, glass production evolved dramatically, becoming one of the Empire’s leading commercial industries. The vitriarii, glassmakers, had been introduced to the glassblowing method which was used to expand their repertoire of shapes and designs significantly. As a consequence, Roman glass was then used as a great trading commodity across the whole of the known world. Glassblowing allowed different shapes and designs to be forged, the walls were able to become thinner creating a more translucent appearance. Different coloured glass was created by adding different metals during the process. The aubergine colour seen in this piece would have been created by adding manganese to the glass.
To find out more about Ancient Roman glass please visit our relevant blog post: Ancient Glass
