The Morgan Cup

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Object Name: 
Cup
Title: 
The Morgan Cup
Accession Number: 
52.1.93
Dimensions: 
Overall H: 6.2 cm; Rim Diam: 7.6 cm
Location: 
On Display
Date: 
1-50
Credit Line: 
Gift of Arthur A. Houghton, Jr.
Web Description: 
The Morgan Cup is a rare example of Roman cameo glass. Cameo glass is made by encasing one color with one or more layers of contrasting colored glass. After cooling, the outer layer is cut away to create a scene in relief. Depicted here is a pregnant woman who worships at an outdoor sanctuary. This cup is named after J. Pierpont Morgan, who once owned it.
Department: 
Provenance: 
Morgan, J. Pierpont (American, 1937-1913), Former Collection
1912
Durighello, Joseph-Ange, Former Collection
1903
Pasha, Moutran, Former Collection
Houghton, Arthur A. Jr., Source
1951-07
Pierpont Morgan Library, Former Collection
1912
Branteghem, Former Collection
Category: 
Primary Description: 
Cup, “The Morgan Cup”. Transparent blue and opaque white glass; blown, cased, carved, ground, polished; half-ovoid body, flattened at bottom; plain rim with internal bevel; side almost vertical at top, curving in towards bottom; flat base; wall and base cased to produce white relief ornament on blue background. Decoration on wall consists of continuous frieze between narrow borderline below rim and groundline above base, asteroid flower in double circle on base. Frieze is a ritual scene: priestess stands facing right, her right arm raised and fingers extended, bearing lighted token in left hand; in front of her, low table with stepped base and baluster; supporting altar with burning pinecone, and fruits; beyond this, herm of Priapus on pedestal, which is garlanded; behind priestess, female with ewer in right hand and tray of objects in left hand at shoulder height; she looks back over right shoulder, and has hair drawn up on top of head and wears Greek tunic; behind her, large handleless krater on gadrooned foot, and behind this another ritual scene; young satyr wearing loincloth bound at waist, fastens one end of curtain to top of column, other end being tied to branches of tree; below curtain, between column and tree, second female kneels facing right, lifts sheet from straight-sided basket; behind tree, donkey stands facing right, tethered to branch, saddled and bridled, stool-like object on top of saddle. Flower has four pointed oval petals with median grooves alternating with four triangular petals with median grooves.
Roman Landscapes: Visions of Nature and Myth from Rome to Pompeii
Venue(s)
San Antonio Museum of Art 2023-02-24 through 2023-05-21
“Art, Nature and Myth in Ancient Rome” will examine landscape scenes in Roman private art during the period of the early Roman empire, from the first century B.C. to the second century A.D. The object list consists of approximately 65 works from prominent international institutions, including examples of wall paintings, sculptures, mosaics, and silver vessels alongside the cameo glass Morgan Cup. Among the most prominent works are the landscape Odyssey scenes found at the Esquiline hill in Rome, which have never been displayed in the United States. A catalogue edited by the exhibition’s curator, Jessica Powers, Curator of Art of the Ancient Mediterranean, with contributions by leading scholars in Roman art and literature, will accompany the exhibition. The exhibition has been supported by the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Russel Hill Rogers Fund for the Arts, the Association of Art Museum Curators and American Academy in Rome, and several private donors. The exhibition is proposed to run from October 16, 2021–January 9, 2022.
Morgan: Mind of the Collector
Venue(s)
Wadsworth Atheneum 2017-09-09 through 2017-12-17
One hundred years after J. P. Morgan Jr. (Jack) distributed more than 1,350 works of art from his father's estate to the Wadsworth Atheneum, the museum will celebrate with an exhibition, curated by Linda Horvitz Roth, and symposium that explores J. Pierpont Morgan's extraordinary career as a collector, with objects drawn primarily from the Wadsworth, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Morgan Library. This exhibition will feature great works of art -- indicative of Morgan's remarkable collection -- in the context of his groundbreaking collecting career. The project will profile what, how, and why Morgan collected, assessing this remarkable man and his colossal achievement with fresh eyes and the distance of a century. Was he a cultural super-hero, a ransacking barbarian, or something more nuanced? What was his impact on scholarship, the art market, and American culture? How did he fit into the collecting history of Europe and America? These are some of the questions that will be addressed in "Morgan: Mind of the Collector". A symposium featuring leading scholars on Morgan and collecting in America will look further at these issues, and it is our plan to publish the papers resulting from the symposium.
 
Glass of the Caesars
Venue(s)
British Museum 1987-11-18 through 1988-03-06
Romisch-Germanisches Museum 1988-04-15 through 1988-10-18
Musei Capitolini 1988-11-03 through 1989-01-31
Corning Museum of Glass
Cameo Glass: Masterpieces from 2000 Years of Glassmaking
Venue(s)
Corning Museum of Glass 1982-05-01 through 1982-10-31
Cameo glass, one of the most costly and difficult decorating techniques since first century B.C., is documented and illustrated in this catalog. Included are examples from Rome, Islam, and China, as well as English 19th-century masterpieces by John Northwood and George Woodall among others. For the purposes of this catalog, the term “cameo glass” is used to refer to cased glass objects with two or more differently colored layers. The outer layer is usually an opaque or opalescent white, and the outer layer or layers have been carved in to leave the decoration standing in relief against a body of contrasting color. Shading is produced by thinning down the carved layer; highlights are created where the glass is left thickest. Both this catalog, and the exhibition for which it was created, documents the 2000-year cameo glass tradition.
 
Development history of ancient Chinese glass technology (2021) illustrated, p. 152;
Ancient and Islamic Glass: Selections from the Corning Museum of Glass (2019) illustrated, pp. 52-53;
Looking Closer at Roman Cameo Glass (2018) illustrated, p. 24 (top); BIB# 714740
Saint Louis: From Glass to Crystal Through the Centuries (2018) illustrated, p. 16 (fig. 5);
Art Review: A Mogul's Voracious Appetite for Art (2017-10-09) illustrated, p. A13; BIB# 705042
Zhongguo gu dai bo li ji shu fa zhan shi / 中国古代玻璃技术发展史 / 干福熹等著 (2016) illustrated, p. 077;
Icon, Cult, and Context : Sacred Spaces and Objects in the Classical World (2016) illustrated, cover, pp. 105-107; BIB# 151525
Archaologischer Kalender 2015 (2014-06) illustrated, November;
Reflections on Glass (2013-11) illustrated, p. 12 (top left); BIB# AI98719
Escort Guide to the Galleries (2013) illustrated, p. 10, top; BIB# 134015
Escort Guide to the Galleries [V4/2013] (2013) illustrated, p. 9, bottom; BIB# 134856
The Individual in the Religions of the Ancient Mediterranean (2013) illustrated, Front cover, back cover; BIB# 131659
Introducing Ancient Glass (2012-04) illustrated, p. 23; BIB# AI98798
The 2012 Portland Vase Project: Recreation of a Masterpiece (2012) illustrated, p. 34, bottom; BIB# 131722
Chemical Analyses of Early Glasses (Volume 3) (2012) pp. 387, 682; BIB# 61154
Fire and Ice: Ancient Glass in the Princeton University Art Museum (2012) illustrated, p. 28, fig. 52;
Ancient glass for the modern collector (2011-04) illustrated, p. 38; BIB# AI81693
The Yearning for Venetian Glass: Beauty that Traversed Oceans and Time (2011) illustrated, p. 19, fig. 5;
The Morgan Cup (family) (2011)BIB# 131507
The Morgan Cup (adult) (2011)BIB# 131512
Favorite Things (2010) illustrated, back cover; BIB# 75602
Glass, Knocking at the Door of Art (2010) illustrated, p. 25; BIB# 115616
Corning Museum of Glass (2009-01) illustrated, p. 4; BIB# 109342
The Joy of Coldworking (2009) illustrated, p. 15; BIB# 107182
Casting Poetic Sentiment: Glass Art Creation Methodology (2008) illustrated, p. 9, fig. 5; BIB# 107146
Frabel: Excellence in Glass Art (2007) illustrated, p. 45; BIB# 100291
The Gather (2007) illustrated, p. 2; BIB# AI75852
The encyclopedia of modern marbles, spheres & orbs (2005) illustrated, p. 20 fig. 14; BIB# 88983
Looking at Glass: A Guide to Terms, Styles and Techniques (2005) illustrated, p. 10; BIB# 99164
Antikes Glas (Handbuch der Archaologie) (2004) illustrated, p. 212 (Taf. 182); BIB# 83444
The Social Life of Painting in Ancient Rome and on the Bay of Naples (2004) illustrated, p. 183; BIB# 60796
Layers of Wonder: Majestic and Marvelous Cameo Glass (2003-05) illustrated, inset between pp. 40-41;
Glass in Art, History, and Science at The Corning Museum of Glass (2003) illustrated, p. 71, no. 20; BIB# AI64198
The Encyclopedia of Glass (2001) illustrated, p. 38; BIB# 69319
Chemical Analyses of Early Glasses (Volume 1) (1999) pp. 77, 249; BIB# 61154
Roman Glass: Reflections on Cultural Change (1999) illustrated, p. 29, Pl. E.37; p. 30; BIB# 72068
Uncovering treasures in the Empire State (1999) p. 130, fig. 1; BIB# AI43699
Miller's Antiques Encyclopedia (1998) illustrated, p. 298; BIB# 57739
Saint-Louis: de l'art du verre a l'art du cristal de 1586 a nos jours (1998) illustrated, p. 16, fig. 5; BIB# 60095
Roman Glass in The Corning Museum of Glass, Volume One (1997) pp. 41, 48-51, #47A-F; p. 328, #47A-C; BIB# 58895
Glass Act (1993-09) p. 244;
The Corning Museum of Glass and the Finger Lakes Region (1993) illustrated, p. 10, #17; BIB# 35681
History of Glass Crafts (1990-07) p. 46;
A Short History of Glass (1990 edition) (1990) illustrated, p. 28, #17; BIB# 33211
The Portland Vase (1990) illustrated, pp. 140-141, figs. 95-99; BIB# AI74242
J.P. Morgan: The Financier as Collector (1990) illustrated, p. 21, ill.; BIB# 25136
Masterpieces of Glass: A World History From The Corning Museum of Glass (1990) illustrated, pp. 34-35, pl. 9; BIB# 33819
I Vetri Dei Cesari Arrivan In Inghilterra (Casa Stile) (1988-01) illustrated, p. 22, ill.;
Glass Of The Roman Empire (1988) illustrated, pp. 24-25, fig. 8; pp. 6, 9; BIB# 32608
Glass of the Caesars (1987-08) illustrated, p. 83; BIB# AI18756
Glass of the Caesars (1987) pp. 80-82, #35; BIB# 31831
Nihon dai hyakka zensho. 5. (1985) illustrated, p. 838, bottom right; BIB# 3467
The Ancient Art of Cameo Glass (1985) illustrated, pp. 34-36, ill. p. 34; BIB# AI14995
Roman Glass in Italy: The Origin of An Industry (1984) illustrated, p. 51;
2,000 Years of Cameo Glass at The Corning Museum (1982-07) illustrated, p. 54; BIB# AI9264
Cameo Glass: Masterpieces from 2000 Years of Glassmaking (1982) illustrated, pp. 21, 98, #3; BIB# 30609
Story of Glass Coloring Book (1981) illustrated, p. 10, top right; BIB# 67749
A Short History of Glass (1980 edition) (1980) illustrated, p. 26, #17; BIB# 21161
Drei Antike Gefasse aus Kameoglas in Corning, Florenz und Besancon (1964) illustrated, pp. 13-30, figs. 1-3;
Notice d'une coupe en verre antique (1912-05-24) illustrated BIB# 67160
Notice d'une coupe en verre antique (1912-05-24) illustrated BIB# 11286
Kurisutaru garasu no pepa ueito illustrated, p. 16;