Mosaic Glass Fragments
Not on view
Between 1907 and 1909, the Metropolitan Museum excavated at Ain et-Turba in the Kharga Oasis. Archaeologists found large numbers of glass fragments, many of high quality and expensive manufacture. Hundreds of glass fragments were recovered. The mosaic glasswork technique used on some of the fragments is similar to millefiori, "thousand flowers" in Italian. This method fused tiny rods of colored glass and created flower-like patterns.
In this case are examples of painted glass as well. One shows a tiger attacking an antelope, surrounded by leaves and flowers. No other excavation from this Late Antique Egyptian region contained the amount and quality of glass discovered in Ain et-Turba. In Bagawat, there was evidence that glass like this was placed in the plaster of the tombs’ domes in order to have a glittering effect on the rooms.
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