These cups and bowls represent the class of brightly colored translucent wares that dominated the repertoire of Roman cast glass until they were superceded by vessels made in colorless glass. Unlike mosaic glass, which was made primarily in the Syro-Palestinian region, most translucent monochrome vessels were probably made in Italian workshops and are found mainly in archaeological sites in Italy and the western provinces. However, the popularity of such lightly colored vessels was short-lived, spanning the four decades of the mid-first century between about 30 and 70 A.D. Because of this limited production, the group is noticeably homogeneous, whereas greater variety in shape and palette can be seen in their opaque (1972.118.185; 13.198.1,.2,.3) and mosaic counterparts. The principal colors for this class of cast glasses are deep amber, green or blue, bright turquoise blue, and a manganese purple. The carinated profile was formed by casting a blank of glass between two molds, followed by lathe polishing and cutting on the interior and exterior to create the desired final shape.

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