Abstract
The results of a programme of compositional analysis on a series of emerald green glass vessels of known form and date suggest that emerald green vessels have distinct characteristics that set them apart from most contemporary glasses. These specific compositional peculiarities presented here will be evaluated in the context of the varieties of vessel forms produced in the colour. In the light of our findings we will suggest a number of ways forward in the understanding of the structure of the early Roman glass industry.
Highlights
The first three quarters of the 1st century A.D. witnessed by far the most widespread and adventurous use of brightly coloured glass in the history of glassmaking in the ancient world
A closer typological analysis reveals that in the early and mid 1st century A.D., when the use of this colour was at its height, emerald green is strikingly absent in the manufacture of some very common vessel forms
In our survey of the 1st century A.D. vessel forms produced in emerald green glass, we have found that the peculiarities in the use of emerald green observed by Grose (1991) can be found amongst certain contemporary blown forms
Summary
The first three quarters of the 1st century A.D. witnessed by far the most widespread and adventurous use of brightly coloured glass in the history of glassmaking in the ancient world. A closer typological analysis reveals that in the early and mid 1st century A.D., when the use of this colour was at its height, emerald green is strikingly absent in the manufacture of some very common vessel forms This was remarked upon by David Grose (1991, 2e11) when he surveyed early Roman glasses from Italy. These included ribbed bowls (Fig. 1.1; Isings, 1957 form 3), as well as ‘linear-cut’ bowls (Fig. 1.2) He observed that emerald green was a favoured colour for producing the range of non-blown vessels often described as ‘fine wares’ or ‘ceramic forms’ (Grose, 1991, 2, Fig. 1 pl.I, IIa, IIIb). Convex bowls with no base ring and shallow flat-based bowls form a further group of non-blown bowls which are often produced in emerald green (Fig. 1.10e1.12; Isings, 1957 forms 18 and 19)
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