Roman, late Imperial Period, Holyland, ca. 4th to 5th century CE. A wonderful glass jar free-blown from semi-translucent glass of a light blue hue. The bulbous vessel has a concave base with a rough pontil scar, a large apple-shaped body, a rounded shoulder that tapers to a squat neck, and a compressed rim with a lightly flared lip. A pair of applied rigaree handles have petite folded thumb rests situated between the lip and shoulder, and the body is accentuated with a zigzagging trail of teal-hued glass. Covered in a silvery, rainbow iridescence, this is a fabulous example of fine ancient Roman artistry! Size: 3.8" W x 4.1" H (9.7 cm x 10.4 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: East Coast collection, New York Gallery, New York City, New York, USA, acquired before 2010

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#179492

Weathering film and encrustations to glass, but otherwise intact and excellent with faint iridescence in areas. Pontil scar and old collection labels to underside of base.