Bowl
late 1st century BCE-early 1st century CE
Medium
Glass, cast (sagged?)
Dimensions
4.6 × 12.9 × 12.9 cm (1 3/4 × 5 1/8 × 5 1/8 in.)
Classification
bowl
Department
Arts of Greece, Rome, and Byzantium
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
65606
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
This monochrome bowl has evenly spaced ribs radiating around lower portion of the bowl. The pale bluish-green color of the bowl occured naturally, as the result of iron and other oxides in the sand, one of the essential components used in making glass. Initially affordable among only the wealthy, glass was used widely in the Roman world to create a variety of everyday objects such as those displayed here, including delicate cosmetic containers that held perfumes and oils and various forms of ta...
About the Artist
Ancient Roman
The artists attributed to "Ancient Roman" in museum collections represent the anonymous craftsmen who produced the vast output of sculpture, frescoes, mosaics, and reliefs defining Roman visual culture from the Republic (c. 509–27 BCE) to the late Empire (c. 395 CE). Individual identities remain elusive, as Roman makers were typically viewed as skilled tradesmen—often enslaved Greeks or provincial...