Mosaic Glass Patella Cup
1st century BC-2nd century AD
Medium
Decorative Arts-Glass
Classification
Decorative Arts-Glass
Department
Smithsonian Collection
Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Credit
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of John Gellatly
Accession Number
1929.8.147.13
About this artwork
Ancient Roman glassmakers invented the decorative technique now commonly known as mosaic glass, seen in this bowl. The first steps in this process are arranging thin threads of glass of varying colors into a long bundle, then fusing these into a single rod. The resulting cane is then sliced into thin discs, and each will bear the same pattern, perhaps a flower design or concentric circles in the shape of an eye. As seen here, the cane slices can then be reworked into a vessel with this pattern r...