Bulbous Bowl with 'Splashed' Decoration

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Bulbous Bowl with 'Splashed' Decoration

Place of OriginReportedly from Aleppo, Syria

Date1st century CE

DimensionsH: 2 3/8 in. (6 cm); Rim Diam: 2 15/16 in. (7.5 cm)

MediumGlass; free blown with applied decoration; wheel cut

ClassificationGlass

Credit LinePurchased with funds from the Libbey Endowment, Gift of Edward Drummond Libbey

Object number

1951.376

Not on View

DescriptionA translucent to transparent amber-colored glass beaker with a bulbous body and a flattened base. The rim is ground flat. The vessel is decorated with medium and small opaque colored chips—specifically white, grayish-blue, dark greenish-yellow, and red—that were applied to the paraison and melted completely into the surface (marvered) to create a spotted or splattered appearance. A shallow wheel-cut groove encircles the exterior just below the middle of the body. There is no pontil mark.

Label TextThis vibrant cup is an example of Roman "splash-ware," a decorative style popular in the early 1st century A.D. The glassmaker created this effect by rolling the hot, inflated bubble of amber glass over chips of colored glass—white, blue, yellow, and red. These chips melted into the surface (a process called marvering), creating a smooth, multicolor mosaic resembling stone. Although this specific vessel was reportedly found in Aleppo, Syria, similar "splash" vessels were produced in workshops across the Roman Empire, including Northern Italy and the Eastern Mediterranean. Such colorful glassware was likely used as fine tableware for drinking wine.Published ReferencesGrose, David, "Ancient Glass," Toledo Museum of Art Museum News, vol. 20, no. 3, 1978, p. 78, repr fig. 14.

Grose, David F., "Innovation and Change in Ancient Technologies: The Anomalous Case of the Roman Glass Industry," in High-technology Ceramics, Westerville, OH, 1986, p. 77, fig. 16.

Stern, E. Marianne, "Roman Glassblowing in a Cultural Context," American Journal of Archaeology, vol. 103, no. 3, July 1999, p. 448, fig. 14, p. 450.