Ribbed Bowl
Ribbed Bowl
Artist
Roman Empire
(Ancient Roman, 27 BCE-395 CE)
Place of OriginLikely Italy
Datelate first century BCE-early first century CE
Dimensions2 1/4 × 4 5/8 × 3/16 in. (5.7 × 11.7 × 0.5 cm)
Mediummosaic glass
ClassificationGlass
Credit LinePurchased with funds from the Libbey Endowment, Gift of Edward Drummond Libbey
Object number
1970.428
Not on View
DescriptionMulti-colored glass canes; mosaic glass technique, cast, tooled, wheel-cut, rotary- and fire-polished.
Ribbed bowl. Slightly outsplayed rim with almost flat edge; flaring shoulder;
convex curving side; bottom very slightly convex. Marbled mosaic pattern formed from polygonal sections of a single cane in a pale purple ground with opaque white threads and streaks.
On the interior, three narrow horizontal grooves: one just below the rim, the other two in a band around the lower part of the body. On the exterior, evenly spaced pronounced ribs set vertically on the body; the ribs extend from the shoulder to the center of the bottom.
Marbled mosaic pattern formed from polygonal sections of a single cane in a pale purple ground with opaque white threads and streaks.
Label TextAt first glance, this sturdy bowl seems to have been carved out of a solid block of amethyst or banded agate. Instead, its stone-like appearance was achieved with the ancient mosaic glass technique, similar to how paperweights are made today. Rods and strips of various colored glass are heated together until they fuse into a bar, then pulled out like taffy to form a rod with an internal design such as a spiral or a rosette (see the Patella bowl in this case). The rod is cut into short lengths called canes, which are assembled and slowly heated in a mold to create a vessel with distinctive and colorful patterns.Published ReferencesGrose, David F., "Innovation and Change in Ancient Technologies: The Anomalous Case of the Roman Glass Industry," in High-technology Ceramics, Westerville, OH, 1986, p. 71, fig. 8, p. 72, repr.
Grose, David F., Early Ancient Glass: Core-Formed, Rod-Formed, and Cast Vessels and Objects from the Late Bronze Age to the Early Roman Empire, 1600 B. C. to A. D. 50, New York: Hudson Hills Press in association with the Toledo Museum of Art, 1989, cat. no. 292, pp. 279-280, repr. (col.) p. 217, ill. p. 416.
Page, Jutta-Annette, The Art of Glass: Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo, OH, Toledo Museum of Art, 2006, repr. (col.) p.26, p. 27.
Late first century BCE to early first century CE
Late first century BCE to early first century CE
Late first century BCE to early first century CE
Late first century BCE to early first century CE
Late first century BCE to early first century CE
Late first century BCE to early first century CE
Late first century BCE to early first century CE
Late first century BCE to early first century CE
Late first century BCE to early first century CE
Late first century BCE to early first century CE
Late first century BCE to early first century CE
Late first century BCE to early first century CE
Membership
Become a TMA member today
Support TMA
Help support the TMA mission