Ancient Roman Drinking Glass/Beaker
c. 1st – 2nd Century AD
(70 x 80 mm – 2 3/4 x 3 1/8 inches)
Thin-walled blown glass of early form with flared lip, ground rim and slightly flattened bottom. Stabilized crack, otherwise complete and in excellent condition with
exceptional areas of blue, silver, gold, and pink iridescence and surface patina.
Tableware of this form is much scarcer than unguentaria or cosmetic pots and is rarely seen intact.
Provenance: ex Royal Ontario Museum. A closely related piece is identified in the Ernesto Wolf Collection, 2001 (Catalog #18) as Eastern Mediterranean, perhaps Cypriot, early 1st Century.
The survival of this fragile glass seems nearly miraculous. Occasionally examples where the glass has reacted to burial exhibit a shimmering iridescence that has long captivated the imagination of the most ardent collectors and artists.
