Glass vessels engraved with narrative scenes were a specialty of the Rhine River region. They were used as drinking vessels and often buried with their owner. This bowl depicts Christ’s raising of Lazarus from the dead, as is evident from the burial wrappings on the figure and the tomb door, which Christ cast aside. It was found in a Christian sarcophagus in Sicily along with several coins, testimony to the export of these vessels as far away as the Mediterranean Sea.
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Artwork Details
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Title:Glass Dish with an Engraving of the Raising of Lazarus
Date:4th–5th century
Culture:Late Roman
Medium:Green Glass, engraved
Dimensions:Overall: 9 7/16 x 1 1/2 in. (24 x 3.8 cm)
Classification:Glass-Vessels
Credit Line:Gift of J. Pierpont Morgan, 1917
Object Number:17.190.492
Found in Sambuca-Zabut, Sicily.; [ Galleria Sangiorgi, Rome (sold 1911)]; J. Pierpont Morgan (American), London and New York (1911–1913); Estate of J. Pierpont Morgan(1913–1917)
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Age of Spirituality: Late Antique and Early Christian Art, Third to Seventh Century," November 19, 1977–February 12, 1978.
Fleury, Edouard. Antiquités et Monuments du Département de l'Aisne. France archéologique. Paris: J. Claye, 1877. p. 158.
Eck, Théophile. "Le Cimetière Gallo-Romain de Vermand (Aisne)." Bulletin archéologique du Comité des travaux historiques et scientifiques (1887). pp. 187–188, 194–195.
LeBlant, Edmond. "Note sur une coupe de verre gravé dècouverte en Sicile." In Mèlanges d'archéologie et d'histoire. Vol. 8. Paris, 1888. p. 213–214, pl. 4.
Pilloy, Jules. Études sur d'anciens lieux de sépulture dans l'Aisne. Vol. 2. Paris, 1895. p. 158, ill.
Collection du feu prof. Prospero Sarti: As romains; monnaies consulaires; monnaies et médaillons de l'empire en argent et bronze, etc. Vente à partir de lundi 7 mai 1906... à l'hotel de ventes G. Sangiorgi. Rome: Galleria Sangiorgi, May 5–7, 1906. no. 396, p. 67, pl. XXIV.
Breck, Joseph, and Meyric R. Rogers. The Pierpont Morgan Wing: A Handbook. 1st ed. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1925. p. 41.
Fremersdorf, Fritz. "Die farblosen Gläser der Frühzeit in Köln, 2. und 3. Jahrhundert." In Die Denkmäler des römischen Köln: herausgegeben von der Archäologischen Gesellschaft und dem Römisch-Germanischen Museum Köln. Vol. 9. Berlin: Archäologischen Gesellschaft und dem Römisch-Germanischen Museum Köln, 1928.
Fremersdorf, Fritz. Römische Gläser aus Köln : ein kurzer Überblick über die Bestände der Römischen Abteilung des Wallraf-Richartz-Museums. Museum und Öffentlichkeit, Vol. 7. 2nd ed. Cologne: Kölner Verlags-Anstalt und Druckerei, 1928.
Breck, Joseph, and Meyric R. Rogers. The Pierpont Morgan Wing: A Handbook. 2nd ed. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1929. p. 41.
Neuss, Wilhelm. Die Anfänge des Christentums im Rheinlande. Rheinische Neujahrsblätter. Bonn: L. Röhrscheid, 1933.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art. A Special Exhibition of Glass from the Museum Collections. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1936. p. 18, fig. 15.
Fremersdorf, Fritz. Figürlich geschliffene Gläser : eine Kölner Werkstatt des 3. Jahrhunderts. Römisch-germanische Forschungen, Vol. 19. Berlin: W. de Gruyter & Co, 1951.
Weitzmann, Kurt, ed. Age of Spirituality: Late Antique and Early Christian Art, Third to Seventh Century. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1979. no. 404, pp. 444–45.
Caron, Beaudoin. "Roman Figure-Engraved Glass in The Metropolitan Museum of Art." Metropolitan Museum Journal 32 (1997). p. 35, fig. 39, 40.
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