Cameo Glass Plaque Fragment with Theatrical Mask

Place of OriginRome

Date1st century CE

DimensionsL: 3 5/16 in. (8.4 cm); W: 1 15/16 in. (4.9 cm)

MediumCameo glass.

ClassificationGlass

Credit LineGift of Edward Drummond Libbey

Object number

1923.1571

Not on View

DescriptionThis thick rim fragment from a flat plaque, measuring 8.4 x 4.9 cm, preserves a theater mask in opaque white relief over a dark blue background. The comic mask features drilled pupils in bulging eyes, arched brows, a wide flaring nose, and an open, drilled mouth. The hair is arranged in leonine waves swept back and held by a narrow fillet that crosses the forehead, with clusters of grape leaves at the temples. A small rosette decorates the right edge, likely part of a frieze incorporating additional masks and floral elements. The carving is deeply cut and highly expressive. Surface is weathered and pitted, with some detail loss but strong modeling. Same mask type appears in 23.1507.

Label TextThis richly detailed cameo glass fragment preserves the upper portion of a comic theater mask, framed by a fillet and grape leaves. Made in opaque white over blue, the eyes, nose, and mouth are deeply drilled, lending a dramatic and exaggerated expression. The style echoes Roman theatrical motifs often associated with the cult of Dionysos.Published ReferencesSturgis, Russell, “The Coleman Collection of Antique Glass,” The Century Magazine, vol. 48, 1894, p. 556, fig. 12.

Riefstahl, Rudolf M., “Ancient and Near Eastern Glass,” Toledo Museum of Art Museum News, vol. 4, no. 2, Spring 1961, pp. 28, 32, 39, 41, 45.

Riefstahl, Rudolf M., “The Complexities of Ancient Glass,” Apollo, vol. 86, no. 70, December 1967, Fig. 6, p. 430.

Art in Glass: A Guide to the Glass Collections, Toledo Museum of Art, 1969, p. 22 (color illustration).

Gunther, Charles F., “How Glass Is Made,” Toledo Museum of Art Museum News, vol. 15, no. 1, 1972, p. 14.

Gazda, Elaine K., ed., The Villa of the Mysteries in Pompeii: Ancient Ritual, Modern Muse, Ann Arbor, Kelsey Museum of Archaeology and University of Michigan Museum of Art, 2000, p. 221, no. 87.

Exhibition HistoryUniversity of Michigan Museum of Art, Ann Arbor Michigan, 2000.