Cameo Glass Cup Fragment with Horse and Rider

Place of OriginRome

Date1st century CE

DimensionsL: 1 5/8 in. (3.9 cm); W: 1 1/8 in. (2.2 cm)

MediumCameo glass.

ClassificationGlass

Credit LineGift of Edward Drummond Libbey

Object number

1923.1547

Not on View

DescriptionThis is a high-relief fragment from a Roman cameo glass vessel, likely a bowl or cup, measuring 3.9 x 2.2 cm. The white relief is unusually thick (0.5 cm) and partly undercut. The preserved scene shows a rider in a sleeved battle tunic and hood astride a galloping horse moving left. The shoulder of the rider projects 0.15 cm over the body of the horse. The modeling is highly plastic and volumetric—cuts are not linear but define form through shifts in plane and thickness. The separation between shoulder and torso is marked by two deep, adjacent incised lines that may have been wheel-cut to define curvature. The surface of the blue glass is marked by regular linear cavities, and the interior shows horizontal polishing lines.

Label TextThis fragment of a Roman cameo glass vessel depicts a rider in high relief, modeled in white over a cobalt blue ground. The horse gallops left, and the rider—dressed in a hooded tunic—leans forward. The composition and plastic modeling show remarkable depth and naturalism. Relief reaches 0.5 cm, with undercutting and multidirectional carving. The image recalls Roman equestrian sculpture and was likely drawn from official Imperial iconography. Scholars have linked this rider to scenes on the Parthenon frieze and Roman monuments such as the Arch of Constantine.Published ReferencesSturgis, Russell, “The Coleman Collection of Antique Glass,” The Century Magazine, vol. 48, 1894, p. 557, fig. 15.

Simon, Erika, Die Portlandvase, Mainz, Römisch-Germanisches Zentralmuseum, 1957, pp. 52, 79, 82, pl. 15, no. 2.