Glass mosaic bowl fragment
Unknown Artist
late 1st century BCE–early 1st century CE
Medium
Glass
Dimensions
Other: 1 1/16 x 9/16 in. (2.6 x 1.4 cm)
Classification
Glass
Culture & Period
Roman · Early Imperial
Department
Greek and Roman Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Edward C. Moore Collection, Bequest of Edward C. Moore, 1891
Accession Number
91.1.1980
Art Historical Context
This delicate glass mosaic bowl fragment, to the late 1st century BCE through the early 1st CE, offers a glimpse into the opulent world of Early Imperial Rome. Crafted during the transition from Republic to Empire under Augustus, it exemplifies the technical prowess of Roman glassmakers who drew inspiration from Hellenistic innovations. Though only a small piece measuring 1 1/16 x 9/16 inches (2.6 x 1.4 cm), it once formed part of a luxurious vessel used by the elite for dining or display. Roman mosaic glass, a hallmark of this era, involved bundling thin rods—or canes—of colored glass, fusin...