Published Roman Glass Kantharos - Gorgeous!
Roman, early Imperial Period, ca. 1st century CE. A stunning and exceedingly rare example of a kantharos, free-blown from translucent blue-green glass. The funnel-shaped body tapers down to a carinated bulge with sixteen pinched ribs and a separately-attached flared conical foot, with a pair of spiraling handles arching between the bulging base and the thick rim, and a deep basin. The intricate form and elegant detailing of this vessel suggests it was commissioned by an individual of wealth. Faint areas of silvery and rainbow-hued iridescence are visible and nicely accentuate the vessel's soft turquoise hue. Size: 5.875" W x 3.25" H (14.9 cm x 8.3 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.
Published in "Glasses of Antiquity." Fortuna Fine Arts, Ltd., New York, 2002, fig. 62.
Provenance: private East Coast, USA collection; ex-Martin Wunsch collection, New York, USA, acquired in the 1980s
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.
#146168
Condition Report: Repaired from multiple pieces as shown, with small areas of restoration, minor chips, and light adhesive residue along break lines. Minor nicks and abrasions to rim, body, handles, and foot, with light weathering film, and some micro-bubbling within glass matrix. Light earthen deposits as well as faint silvery and rainbow iridescence throughout.
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Roman, early Imperial Period, ca. 1st century CE. A stunning and exceedingly rare example of a kantharos, free-blown from translucent blue-green glass. The funnel-shaped body tapers down to a carinated bulge with sixteen pinched ribs and a separately-attached flared conical foot, with a pair of spiraling handles arching between the bulging base and the thick rim, and a deep basin. The intricate form and elegant detailing of this vessel suggests it was commissioned by an individual of wealth. Faint areas of silvery and rainbow-hued iridescence are visible and nicely accentuate the vessel's soft turquoise hue. Size: 5.875" W x 3.25" H (14.9 cm x 8.3 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.
Published in "Glasses of Antiquity." Fortuna Fine Arts, Ltd., New York, 2002, fig. 62.
Provenance: private East Coast, USA collection; ex-Martin Wunsch collection, New York, USA, acquired in the 1980s
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.
#146168
Condition Report: Repaired from multiple pieces as shown, with small areas of restoration, minor chips, and light adhesive residue along break lines. Minor nicks and abrasions to rim, body, handles, and foot, with light weathering film, and some micro-bubbling within glass matrix. Light earthen deposits as well as faint silvery and rainbow iridescence throughout.
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