The Origins of Glassmaking
This gallery illustrates the ingenuity of the earliest glassmakers, who used a variety of techniques to shape and decorate glass objects. These objects include vessels, jewelry, inlays, and sculpture.
< Glass Collection Galleries
Portrait of King Amenhotep II (?)
Egypt about 1450-1400 B.C.
Deep blue glass
H. 4 cm
79.1.4
Ancient glass sculpture is very rare. This is one of the earliest known glass portraits. It probably shows the head of Amenhotep II, who was ruler of Egypt about 60 years before Tutankhamen. The craft of glassmaking may have been introduced into Egypt during Amenhotep’s reign. The head was carefully sculpted, probably with the simplest of tools and considerable effort on the part of the craftsman. Cast in blue glass, the sculpture is now tan in color due to its long burial. Several royal portrait heads in glass are known. They were probably made as parts of composite figures designed to incorporate other materials, such as gold, ivory, and wood.
Jar
Eastern Mediterranean, Cyprus, possibly, 2nd-1st century B.C.
Core-formed, trail decorated and tooled
H. 24 cm
55.1.62
Core-formed jars were manufactured in the Mediterranean region from the sixth century B.C. until about A.D. 10. Large numbers of these vessels have been found in the Syro-Palestinian region, and this has prompted some scholars to suggest that they were made there. Beginning in the mid-second century, large bowls of colorless or slightly colored glass were cast in this area, and similar glasses were employed to a limited extent in the production of some core-formed jars. Other scholars believe that Cyprus was the main source of these jars. While many of the jars made during this period are irregular in shape and poorly worked, this example reflects careful craftsmanship. It is decorated with trails in several colors, and it is also one of the largest jars of its kind.
Long description: Almost opaque yellow green glass, bubbly with stone and thin iridescent film, some surface pitting, applied trails of opaque white and opaque yellow glass; core-formed, trail decorated and tooled. Rounded rim flared out from long cylindrical neck, diagonal tooling marks evident on rim exterior; vessel wall spreads out into broad shoulder bending in to form an elongated inverted ovoid body; neck and shoulder wound with heavy trail of yellow glass, which is also repeated several times at the base; central area wound more carefully with thin trails of yellow alternating with opaque white trails; entire surface has been marvered but only central register has had the trails pulled up to the rim fifty-five times; two heavy trails of lighter yellow green glass have been applied at the shoulder and pulled up beneath the rim, on the neck, a blob has also been applied to the base to form a large rounded button.
Cover in the Form of a Fish
Italy, probably, 1st Century
Translucent dark blue glass; cast, wheel-cut and polished.
L. 33.7 cm, W. 9.2 cm
67.1.1
Roman glassmakers sometimes produced objects in unexpected and highly original forms. This unique fish was cast in a mold. The upper surface was polished and wheel-cut with realistic (and anatomically correct) details, including the mouth, eye, gills, and fins. The underside is hollow, and the only “details” consist of groups of parallel cuts on the fins and tail. Clearly, only the upper surface was meant to be seen, and it is assumed that the object was a lid—the cover of a dish for serving fish. One lifted the glass fish (the cuts on the underside of the fins and tail would have made a firm grip possible) and found the real fish (about the size of a trout) resting on the dish.
Long description: Translucent dark blue glass; cast, wheel-cut and polished. Narrow oval dish or cover in form of fish, with four projections from rim, cut in form of dorsal, caudal and anal fins, and tail; interior hollow; exterior has rounded contours of fish, except at highest point, which is flat; anatomical details indicated by incisions and cutting in low relief: mouth, eye, cheek, operculum, pectoral fin and rear part of lateral line; details on head shown in relief, pectoral fins indicated by long incised lines, lateral line by row of notches; exterior surfaces of fins and tail plain, interior surfaces have incised lines indicating spiny components.
Plaque with Actor's Mask
Roman Empire, Alexandria, possibly, late 1st century B.C.-mid-1st century A.D.
Canes of opaque yellow, opaque brick-red, opaque white and translucent amethyst in a translucent yellow-green matrix; mosaic glass technique. Plaque formed of two identical halves mounted in a modern gilt paper binder
H. 2.8 cm, W. 2.4 cm
66.1.78
For three centuries following its conquest by Alexander in 332 B.C., Egypt was ruled by Macedonian Greeks. These rulers and their subjects enjoyed Greek drama. Troupes of actors presented performances in major towns throughout Egypt. Some of the most popular characters appeared in the comedies of the Athenian playwright Menander, whose plays remained popular long after his death. The actors employed conventionalized masks to represent these characters, and the distinctive colors and features of the masks made them instantly recognizable. The characters included soldiers, slaves, and courtesans, and they were portrayed in mosaic glass plaques that became popular decorative motifs. Glassmakers used halves of faces to form complete, symmetrical faces by combining two slices from the same cane, one of which was simply reversed. Here is one such mask, which shows Menander’s brothel keeper.
Long description: Canes of opaque yellow, opaque brick-red, opaque white and translucent amethyst in a translucent yellow-green matrix, bubbly with some black stone and surface pitting; mosaic glass technique. Plaque formed of two identical halves mounted in a modern gilt paper binder; a fantastic theatrical mask consisting of a yellow face with elements delineated in amethyst; eyes are formed of amethyst centers with concentric circles of yellow, amethyst, and white on a red ground; an amethyst liner and eyelash, and an alternating opaque white and opaque yellow eyebrow; the mouth is amethyst surrounded by brick-red and a mustache of alternating opaque white and colorless canes along with colorless strokes indicating lines on the cheek; hair formed of triangular canes of opaque white set in colorless glass and outlined with an opaque white cane, the hair and beard terminate in long thin streaks.
Ribbon Glass Cup
Roman Empire, about 25 B.C.-50 A.D.
Preformed canes fused into three identical units, then sagged over former mold, fire-polished, upper parts lathe-turned
H. 4.8 cm; Rim Diam. 8.6 cm
72.1.11
A new variety of mosaic glass was introduced in the first century B.C. It was “ribbon” mosaic, and the ornament consisted mainly of lengths (not slices) of canes arranged in geometric patterns. This concave-sided cup is a typical example. Many slices of just a few canes with different patterns were laid side by side on a flat surface and fused to form a disk. The disk was then placed on a convex mold and heated until the glass softened and slumped over the mold. The glassmaker then applied a softened spirally twisted cane to make the rim, and he finished the object by grinding and polishing. The fashion for brightly colored glass lasted until the mid-first century A.D., when colorless glass gained in popularity.
Long description: Bands of translucent blue, colorless, green, yellow-green, amethyst, opaque brick-red, opaque yellow, opaque white glass, bubbly with thin milky-white iridescent film on interior, some slight pitting; preformed canes fused into three identical units, then sagged over former mold, fire-polished, upper parts lathe-turned. Cup with slightly concave tapering side, flat base; rounded rim finished with translucent blue band spirally wound with white, reheated and ground; concave tapering side, rounded at bottom; pattern is a series of ribbons roughly parallel to each other, repeated three times: amethyst, white, blue, colorless with yellow twist, green, yellow with thin white bands on either side, blue-green, colorless with yellow spiral, blue, brick-red with white band on either side, blue, colorless with yellow twists (pattern repeats with the amethyst band).
< Glass Collection Galleries