ticketsMember | Make a donation

Glass mosaic ribbed bowl

late 1st century BCE–early 1st century CE
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 168
Translucent deep purple and opaque white.
Vertical rim with rounded and slightly uneven top edge; plain, vertical band around top of side, then bulging outward before curving in sharply to small concave bottom.
On interior, two concentric grooves around outer edge of bottom and small, broader circle at center; on exterior, twenty-eight prominent vertical ribs, with rounded tops, tapering downward and extending onto bottom.
Broken and repaired, with two large holes in rim and top of side and one small chip in rim; pinprick and a few larger bubbles; pitting, dulling, and faint iridescence.
Rotary grinding marks on interior and on band around top of exterior.

Ribbed bowls were a very common and popular type of early Roman cast tableware. Examples have been found right across the Roman world and even beyond. Those in mosaic glass like this one were intended to resemble luxury vessels carved out of semiprecious stone such as banded agate.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Glass mosaic ribbed bowl
  • Period: Early Imperial, Augustan or Julio-Claudian
  • Date: late 1st century BCE–early 1st century CE
  • Culture: Roman
  • Medium: Glass; cast, tooled, and cut
  • Dimensions: diameter 5 1/8 in. (13 cm)
  • Classification: Glass
  • Credit Line: Gift of J. Pierpont Morgan, 1917
  • Object Number: 17.194.561
  • Curatorial Department: Greek and Roman Art

More Artwork

More Artwork
A slider containing 5 items.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
Glass ribbed bowl, Glass, Roman
Glass ribbed bowl
Roman
mid-1st century CE
Glass mosaic jar, Glass, Greek, probably Eastern Mediterranean
Glass mosaic jar
Greek, probably Eastern Mediterranean
2nd–early 1st century BCE
Glass mosaic bowl, Glass, Greek or Roman
Glass mosaic bowl
Greek or Roman
2nd–1st century BCE
Glass ribbed bowl, Glass, Roman
Glass ribbed bowl
Roman
1st half of 1st century CE
Glass mosaic ribbed bowl fragment, Glass, Roman
Glass mosaic ribbed bowl fragment
Roman
late 1st century BCE–early 1st century CE

Related Content

Timeline of Art History

Entries from The Met's art encyclopedia.

Publications

Books, guides, and catalogues published by The Met.

Research Resources

The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.

To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.

Feedback

We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.