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Bowl or Cup
Late 1st century BCE-early 1st century CE
- Medium
- Glass, mosaic glass technique
- Classification
- Vessel
- Dimensions
- 3.8 × 9 × 9 cm (1 1/2 × 3 1/2 × 3 1/2 in.)
- Culture
- Syria
- Museum
- Art Institute of Chicago, Arts of Greece, Rome, and Byzantium
- Credit line
- Gift of Theodore W. and Frances S. Robinson
- Rights
- Public domain (CC0), as the museum states it.
- Who can see it
- Tweens profiles and older: its subjects are known and suit older children. How works are placed
View at the Art Institute of Chicago
About this work
Initially affordable only among the wealthy, glass was used in ancient Rome as containers for oils, perfume, and tablewares. The variety of glass-making techniques reveals the changing tastes and fashions over the centuries. During the 1st century CE, cast glass was a novel form that was a luxury for the Roman household, but by the end of the century, the innovation of blown glass allowed for less labor-intensive and less expensive production, which meant people of lesser means could afford it. Blown glass became so popular it nearly supplanted ceramic and even bronze wares in the home.
Description © Art Institute of Chicago, CC BY 4.0
