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Afghanistan: Hidden Treasures from the National Museum, Kabul
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Goblet depicting a scene of date harvesting, 1st–2nd century A.D.
Afghanistan, Begram
Colorless glass, antimony, and iron oxides; H. 9 3/4 x Diam. 4 5/8 in. (24.8 cm x 11.7 cm)
National Museum of Afghanistan, Kabul, 04.1.43
Photo: © Thierry Ollivier / Musée Guimet
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The enameled goblets from Begram are a unique document of ancient glassmaking, previously known from only a handful of fragments of glassware found in various sites scattered within the Roman Empire, from the late first to the third century A.D. The favorite subjects were combat between gladiators or heroes and genre scenes, such as hunting and fishing, set in exotic landscapes evocative of Egypt. This goblet shows four figures, surrounded by a grove of palm trees, who seem to be engaged in harvesting dates. The strong sense of color and the sketchy freedom of this and other miniature paintings give them an extraordinary vivacity that places them in the ranks of pictorial masterpieces of the ancient world.
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