Large Footed Mixing Bowl (Krater)

Place of OriginReportedly South Italy

Date250-175 BCE

DimensionsH: 7 in. (17.7 cm); Diam. (rim) 18 5/8 in. (21.9 cm)

MediumCast and lathe-cut glass

ClassificationGlass

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

Object number

1980.1000

Not on View

DescriptionThis large footed bowl is a hemispherical krater with a wide, outsplayed rim and a tall, elegant, bell-shaped (ogive) foot joined to the body by a solid cylindrical stem. The glass is remarkably clear with a pale greenish tint, which is more pronounced in the thicker sections like the solid stem. The exterior is decorated with precisely executed lathe-cut horizontal ridges and grooves: one sits below the lip, a pair encircles the upper third of the body, and a band of three defines the transition from the body to the stem. The foot is intricately profiled with further lathe-cut moldings.

Label TextOne of the treasures of TMA’s ancient glass collection, this krater is unparalleled because of its early date, large size, and elegant form. It appears to be one of the earliest examples of magnificent Hellenistic Greek tablewares, which were produced before the invention of glass blowing. It was cast in a mold from a large “blank” of glass, then lathe-cut and polished to make an astoundingly thin vessel wall. The concept of complete tableware services in glass for serving and consuming food and drink was new and glassmakers rose to supply the market with luxurious objects.Published ReferencesHarden, Donald B., "A Hellenistic Footed Glass Bowl of Alexandrine Origin", in Toledo Museum of Art Museum News, vol. 22, 1980, pp. 17-25.

Grose, David F., "Innovation and change in ancient technologies: The anomalous case of the Roman glass industry," in High-technology Ceramics, Westerville, OH, 1986, p. 68, fig. 3, p. 69, 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, Catalog No. 183, p. 198, repr. (col.) p. 177, drawing, p. 409.

Page, Jutta-Annette, The Art of Glass: Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo, Ohio, Toledo Museum of Art, 2006, p. 24, repr. (col.) p. 25.

Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo Museum of Art Masterworks, Toledo, 2009, p. 74, repr. (col.).

Lierke, Rosemarie, Die nicht-geblasenen antiken Glasgefaesse, Offenbach/Main, Deutsche glastechnische Gesellschaft, 2009, pp. 31, 34, repr. (col.).