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Roman Mosaic and Network Glass

• 
  Bowl, 2nd–early 1st century b.c.
  Hellenistic, Greek
  Onyx glass

  H. 5 3/8 in. (13.8 cm), Diam. 6 1/8 in. (15.6 cm)
  Edward C. Moore Collection, Bequest of Edward C. Moore, 1891 (91.1.1303)

• 
  Mosaic bowls, 1st century b.c.
  Hellenistic
  Glass

  H. 1 3/4 in. (4.5 cm), Diam. 3 1/4 in. (8.3 cm); H. 1 23/32 in. (4.29 cm), Diam. 3 7/8 in. (9.83 cm)
  Gift of J. Pierpont Morgan, 1917 (17.194.263; 17.194.560)

• 
  Garland bowl, late 1st century b.c.–early 1st century a.d.; Augustan
  Roman
  Glass

  H. 1 1/2 in. (3.8 cm), Diam. 7 1/8 in. (18.1 cm)
  Edward C. Moore Collection, Bequest of Edward C. Moore, 1891 (91.1.1402)

• 
  Ribbed bowl, late 1st century b.c.–mid-1st century a.d.
  Roman
  Cast glass

  H. 1 11/16 in. (4.3 cm), Diam. 5 5/8 in. (14.3 cm)
  Gift of Henry G. Marquand, 1881 (81.10.39)

• 
  Composite mosaic dish, early 1st century a.d.
  Roman
  Glass

  H. 13/16 in. (2 cm), Diam. 6 5/16 in. (16 cm)
  Fletcher Fund, 1959 (59.11.6)

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Despite the labor-intensive nature of the process, cast mosaic bowls were extremely popular and foreshadowed the appeal that blown glass was to have in Roman society.

Related

Timelines (5)

• Ancient Greece, 1000 B.C.–1 A.D.
• Ancient Greece, 1–500 A.D.
• Italian Peninsula, 1000 B.C.–1 A.D.
• Italian Peninsula, 1–500 A.D.
• The Eastern Mediterranean, 1000 B.C.–1 A.D.

Primary Thematic Essays (3)

• Mosaic Glass from Islamic Lands
• Roman Glass
• Roman Mold–Blown Glass

Other Thematic Essays (13)

• Augustan Rule (27 b.c.–14 a.d.)
• Cameo Appearances
• Jewish Art in Late Antiquity and Early Byzantium
• List of Rulers of the Roman Empire
• The Roman Banquet
• Roman Cameo Glass
• Roman Gold–Band Glass
• Roman Housing
• Roman Inscriptions
• Roman Luxury Glass
• Stained Glass in Medieval Europe
• Stained, or Luster–Painted, Glass from Islamic Lands
• The Year One

Maps (4)

• Europe, 1000 b.c.–1 a.d.
• Europe, 1–500 a.d.
• World, 1000 b.c.–1 a.d.
• World, 1–500 a.d.

Index Terms (14)

Art Movement/Style

• Early Imperial Art in Ancient Rome
• Hellenistic Period in Greek Art
• Republican Art in Ancient Rome

Material and Technique

• Glass from Europe
• Mosaic

Object

• Deep Vessel (Cup or Bowl)
• Deep Vessel from Europe
• Shallow Vessel (Platter, Plate, Basin, or Bowl)
• Shallow Vessel from Europe
• Vessel from the Balkan Peninsula
• Vessel from the Italian Peninsula

Subject Matter/Theme

• Archaeology from Europe
• Conservation
• Trade (1–500 A.D.)

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Among the first glasswares to appear in significant numbers on Roman sites in Italy are the immediately recognizable and brilliantly colored mosaic glass bowls, dishes, and cups of the late first century B.C. The manufacturing processes for these objects came to Italy with Hellenistic craftsmen from the eastern Mediterranean, and these objects retain stylistic similarities with their Hellenistic counterparts.

Mosaic glass objects were manufactured using a laborious and time-consuming technique. Multicolored canes of mosaic glass were created, then stretched to shrink the patterns and either cut across into small, circular pieces or lengthwise into strips. These were placed together to form a flat circle, heated until they fused, and the resulting disk was then sagged over or into a mold to give the object its shape. Almost all cast objects required polishing on their edges and interiors to smooth the imperfections caused by the manufacturing process; the exteriors usually did not require further polishing because the heat of the annealing furnace would create a shiny, "fire polished" surface. Despite the labor-intensive nature of the process, cast mosaic bowls were extremely popular and foreshadowed the appeal that blown glass was to have in Roman society.

Rosemarie Trentinella Lifchez/Stronach Curatorial Intern, Department of Greek and Roman Art, The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Citation

Trentinella, Rosemarie. "Roman Mosaic and Network Glass". In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/rmos/hd_rmos.htm (October 2003)

Further Reading

Oliver, Andrew, Jr. "Late Hellenistic Glass in the Metropolitan Museum." Journal of Glass Studies 9 (1967), pp. 13–33.

Oliver, Andrew, Jr. "Millefiori Glass in Classical Antiquity." Journal of Glass Studies 10 (1968), pp. 48–70.

Suggested Online Resources

Roman Glassmakers: Mosaic Glass

Related exhibitions and online features

Special Exhibitions (including upcoming, current, and past exhibitions)

The Roman Mosaic from Lod, Israel