Beaker with Engraved Bacchic Imagery (The Worringen Beaker)

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Beaker with Engraved Bacchic Imagery (The Worringen Beaker)

Place of OriginGermany, reportedly found in Köln-Worringen

DateLate 3rd to mid-4th century CE

DimensionsH. 20.4 cm (8 in.), Rim Diam. 13.3 cm (5 1/4 in.), Base Diam. 5.7 cm (2 1/4 in.)

MediumFree-blown glass, lathe-turned and wheel-engraved.

ClassificationGlass

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

Object number

1930.6

Not on View

DescriptionTransparent, decolorized glass with a grayish yellow-green tinge (5 GY 7/2), free-blown with no pontil mark. The vessel has a slightly convex ground rim, an inverted conical body with straight sides tapering to a concave base, and features abraded (mattschliff) and wheel-cut decoration. The exterior is adorned with a central figural band framed by wheel-cut grooves and vegetal garlands. The first scene depicts three figures: a seated woman in a sleeveless dress, another partially bare woman offering a bowl, and a nude male pouring liquid into it from a horn-shaped vessel, all set within a natural landscape with architectural motifs. The second scene shows two winged, nude figures (likely Erotes) interacting over a storage jar, framed by a circular architectural element. Separating the scenes is a multi-story structure resembling a Roman granary, while a garland of circular fruit decorates the band below.

Label TextThe Worringen Beaker, named for its reported discovery in the Worringen district of Cologne (Germany), exemplifies late Roman glassworking with its refined lathe-turning and wheel-engraving techniques. Its size, craftsmanship, and iconographic richness have made it a centerpiece in scholarly studies of late antique glass. The beaker depicts feasting and reclining figures, perhaps associated with the world of the wine god Dionysus. The central scene depicts a reclining male figure pouring liquid into a bowl held by a partially nude female, with another clothed woman nearby. The composition is enriched by architectural elements, such as a multi-storied structure, and naturalistic details, including tree and fish. It remains unclear whether the scene is generic or a representation of a specific myth. First documented in 1881 as part of Carl Damian Disch's collection, this substantial beaker is among the earliest Roman glass objects studied from the region. It passed through prominent collections, including that of Alexander Basilewsky, before arriving at the Toledo Museum of Art in 1930.Published ReferencesKisa, Das Glas im Altertum, Leipzig, 1908, vol. II, pp. 559, 663-665, fig. 248.

Weerth, E. aus'm, Bonner Jahrb, p. 71, 123, T.VI 1361, ibd. 73,74, T.III and VI.

Eisen, Gustavus, Glass, vol. 2, S.393, fig. 167, IV, T.99 and 100.

American Journal of Archaeology, Vol. XXXII, No. 1, Jan - Mar 1928 repr. p.31.

Eisen, Gustavus A., "A Third Century Roman Glass," The Art News, January 11, 1930.

Singer, Charles, Holmyard, E.J., Hall, A.R., and Trevor I. Williams, A History of Technology, Oxford, 1956, vol. 2, pl. 26E.

Riefstahl, Rudolf M., "Ancient and Near Eastern Glass", Toledo Museum News, Spring 1961, New Series, vol. 4, no. 2, p.39, repr. (also published as Ancient Neare Eastern Glass.

Haberey, W., "Fruhchristliche Glaser aus dem Rheinland", Comptes Rendus du VII Internationaler Glasskongress, Brussels, 1965, p. 249, 5, repr., abb. 16.

Toledo Museum of Art, A Guide to the Collections, Toledo, 1966, repr.

Riefstahl, Rudolf M., "The complexities of ancient glass", Apollo, vol. 86, no. 70, Dec. 1967, p. 430, repr., fig. 7, p. 431.

Labino, Dominck, Visual Art in Glass, Dubuque, IA, 1967, p. 29, 30, repr. fig. 19.

Toledo Museum of Art, Art in Glass: a guide to the glass collections, Toledo, 1968, repr. p. 28.

Painter, S.K., "Six Roman glass with cut decoration from Amiens", British Museum Quarterly, vol. 36, no.1-2, Autumn, 1971, p. 44-7, repr. Pl. XVIIIa. Grose, David, "Ancient Glass", Toledo Museum of Art News, vol. 20, no. 3, 1978, p. 85, repr. fig 25.

Glass Collections in Museums in the United States and Canada, Corning, 1982, repr. p. 165.

Grose, David, "The Origins and Early History of Glass," in The History of Glass, London, 1984, repr. (col.) p. 35.

Polzer Joseph, "A Late Antique Goddess of the Sea," JAHRBÜCH FUR ANTIKE UND CHRISTENTUM, vol. 29, 1986, p. 73, pl. 7B and c.

Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo Treasures, 1995, p. 50, repr. (col.)

Sagui, Lucia, "Un piatto de vetro inciso da Roma: contributo ad un inquadramento delle officine vetrarie tardoantiche", Studi Miscellani, 30, 1996, p. 343, 346, fig. 7a-c, p. 345.

Saldern, Alex von, Antike Glas, Munchen, C.H. Beck, 2004, p. 421, pl. 55/342.>p> Page, Jutta-Annette, The Art of Glass: Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo, Ohio, Toledo Museum of Art, 2006, repr. (col.) p. 43, (det.) p. 17.

The Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo Museum of Art Masterworks, Toledo, 2009, p. 88, repr. (col.).