Gold-Glass Wall Tile with Cross

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Gold-Glass Wall Tile with Cross

Period Byzantine Empire (Byzantine, 395 CE-1453 CE)

Place of OriginLikely Syria, reportedly found near Aleppo

Date9th-12th century

Dimensions3 1/4 × 3 1/2 × 1/4 in. (8.3 × 8.9 × 0.6 cm)

MediumGold leaf between two layers of glass

ClassificationGlass

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

Object number

1959.127A

Not on View

DescriptionSquare "sandwich" plaque with a thick (0.56 cm) green lower layer (pinprick bubbles) and thin (0.03 cm) grayish-yellow upper layer. Gold leaf forms a diagonal square containing four pairs of triangles centering on a small central square. Edges are roughly chipped; a reddish-brown backing blocks light, causing negative-space glass to appear black.

Published ReferencesRiefstahl, Rudolf M., “Ancient and Near Eastern Glass,” Museum News, vol. 4, no. 2, Spring 1961, p. 42.

Philippe, Joseph, Le monde byzantin dans l’histoire de la verrerie, Bologna, 1970, p. 54, fig. 26.

Gorin‑Rosen, Yael, “Byzantine Gold Glass from Excavations in the Holy Land,” Journal of Glass Studies, vol. 57, 2015, pp. 102, 116 (Table 1, Nos. 13–17).