Roman splatter jar, 1st century AD
Glass
Height: 3.4cm; diameter: 4.1cm
12756
Copyright The Artist
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Miniature jar free blown in a cobalt blue glass with opaque white flecks. Intact.
The "speckled" or "splatter" technique involved rolling coloured glass chips onto the surface of a vessel, which was then reheated and marvered to integrate the decoration. Following this process, the vessel was further inflated. For a detailed description of this method, see D. Whitehouse, Roman Glass in the Corning Museum of Glass, Vol.1 (New York, 1997), p.207.
it has been proposed that these "speckled" vessels were intended to imitate the highly prized mosaic glass popular in the 1st century BC (see D.B. Harden, Glass of the Caesars (Michigan, 1987), p.101 group D3). The technique appears to have had a relatively short lifespan. Whitehouse notes that "a cautious interpretation of the available evidence suggests a starting date in the early first century, a peak of production around 50, and a terminal date around 70" (op. cit.).
The "speckled" or "splatter" technique involved rolling coloured glass chips onto the surface of a vessel, which was then reheated and marvered to integrate the decoration. Following this process, the vessel was further inflated. For a detailed description of this method, see D. Whitehouse, Roman Glass in the Corning Museum of Glass, Vol.1 (New York, 1997), p.207.
it has been proposed that these "speckled" vessels were intended to imitate the highly prized mosaic glass popular in the 1st century BC (see D.B. Harden, Glass of the Caesars (Michigan, 1987), p.101 group D3). The technique appears to have had a relatively short lifespan. Whitehouse notes that "a cautious interpretation of the available evidence suggests a starting date in the early first century, a peak of production around 50, and a terminal date around 70" (op. cit.).
Provenance
Dr G. M-A Speyer; acquired in the 1980sLiterature
D.B. Harden, Glass of the Caesars (Michigan, 1987), p.101, group D3
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