Roman, Imperial Period, ca. 1st century CE. A free-blown translucent glass drinking cup of a deep cobalt color with a rounded base and a smooth pontil scar, an inward-tapering body profile, and a flared rim which is ground smooth. A pair of thin wheel-cut bands adorn the lower body, and areas of silvery iridescence elegantly complement the ocean-hued vessel. Size: 3.625" W x 2.25" H (9.2 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.

For a very similar example, please see "Solid Liquid: Greek, Roman, Byzantine and Islamic Glass." Fortuna Fine Art, Ltd., New York, 1999, p. 66, fig. 111.

Provenance: private East Coast, USA collection

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#135081

Repairs to two areas of rim with small chips and light adhesive residue along break lines. Surface wear and minor abrasions commensurate with age, one stable hairline fissure stemming from an area of repair on rim, and light fading to wheel-cut bands. Light earthen deposits and faint silvery iridescence throughout.