Gorgeous Roman Glass Bowl

Roman, Imperial period, ca. 1st to 3rd century CE. A glass bowl with a ribbed exterior, a slightly flared rim, and a gently concave base. Time has made this piece absolutely gorgeous, coating much of its translucent brown surface with a thin, pearlescent and rainbow iridescence. A narrow groove on the interior demarcates the mouth of the vessel. Size: 5.5" W x 2.25" H (14 cm x 5.7 cm)

Most scholars agree, Roman glass was of the highest quality - both aesthetically and technically - among the ancients. While glass making had been practiced for centuries, glass blowing was invented in the Roman-controlled Holy Land in the 1st century BCE. This innovative technology revolutionized the artform. We can appreciate such a wide variety of forms and shapes, because the medium of glass has unique physical properties that make for so many more possibilities which would eventually replace a wide variety of pottery and metal wares in the ancient world. Roman glassmakers reached incredible artistic heights with both free-blown vessels and mold blown forms and decorations and were traded far beyond the Roman Empire. Roman glass vessels have been found in Scandinavia, India, and in Han Dynasty tombs in China.

Provenance: ex-Martin Wunsch collection, New York, USA, acquired in the 1980s

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#135259
Condition Report: One side of the bowl has been repaired from what looks like four or five pieces. Repairs are well done and difficult to see. Brilliant pearlescent and rainbow iridescent patina covering much of the interior and exterior surface.