Miniature Roman Glass Jar w/ Rigaree Handles

Roman, Eastern Mediterranean, Imperial Period, ca. 1st to 3rd century CE. A gorgeous jar of a dainty size, free-blown from translucent glass of a verdant green hue. The vessel is defined by a concave base with a rough pontil scar, a wide piriform lower body with a tapered shoulder, a wide neck with a carinated neck, and a rounded rim. Draped around the jar are seven applied rigaree handles bearing pinched midsections beneath the neck carination as well as thin upper tips. Areas of attractive silvery and rainbow-hued iridescence have formed across the composition and imbue it with a graceful presentation evocative of ancient Rome! Size: 2.25" W x 2.5" H (5.7 cm x 6.4 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: private New York, New York, USA collection; ex-private H.G. collection, Rhineland-Palatinate, acquired between 1970 and 1999

All items legal to buy/sell under U.S. Statute covering cultural patrimony Code 2600, CHAPTER 14, and are guaranteed to be as described or your money back.

A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany all winning bids.

We ship worldwide to most countries and handle all shipping in-house for your convenience.

#149189
Condition Report: Two small areas of restoration to rim, with resurfacing and light adhesive residue along break lines. Losses to upper tips of some rigaree handles. Minor abrasions to base, body, and handles. Pontil mark on underside of base. A pontil scar or mark indicates that a vessel was free-blown, while the absence of such a mark suggests that the work was either mold-blown or that the mark was intentionally smoothed away or wore away over time. Wonderful silver and rainbow iridescence in scattered areas.