Roman Glass

Follow the way social attitudes and historical events—among them, slavery and materialism, wars and plagues—influenced how glassworking developed in the Roman world from the mid-first century B.C. to the late sixth century A.D. Woven into this story is the place of glassware in Roman everyday life, from the lady-of-the-house's cosmetic preparations each morning to the setting of table for the evening meal. Included are two special appendices: one considers the technology of ancient glassmaking, the other summarizes ancient opinions on the properties and merits of glass.

Drawing analogies between the Roman society and our own, Fleming (U. of Pennsylvania Museum) presents the path of development followed by the Roman glassworking industry, and illustrates the aesthetic and technical response of an industry to changes in personal taste. Where written sources were lacking, he uses images such as manuscripts and mosaics, relief decoration on silverware and coffins, and so forth. In the foreword, he states that when he talks of glass reflecting the Roman culture, he means that it reflects the way people behaved towards one another. Contains many color illustrations. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

This volumn covers 481 objects from the first century B.C. to the eighth century A.D.

New insights into the trade and processing of mineral raw materials for glass making - Free ebook at OAPEN Library (www.oapen.org) This book presents a reconstruction of the Hellenistic-Roman glass industry from the point of view of raw material procurement. Within the ERC funded ARCHGLASS project, the authors of this work developed new geochemical techniques to provenance primary glass making. They investigated both production and consumer sites of glass, and identified suitable mineral resources for glass making through geological prospecting. Because the source of the raw materials used in the manufacturing of natron glass can be determined, new insights in the trade of this material are revealed. While eastern Mediterranean glass factories were active throughout the Hellenistic to early Islamic period, western Mediterranean and possibly Italian and North African sources also supplied the Mediterranean world with raw glass in early Roman times. By combining archaeological and scientific data, the authors develop new interdisciplinary techniques for an innovative archaeological interpretation of glass trade in the Hellenistic-Roman world, highlighting the development of glass as an economic material. Contributors Annelore Blomme (KU Leuven), Sara Boyen (KU Leuven), Dieter Brems (KU Leuven), Florence Cattin (Université de Bourgogne), Mike Carremans (KU Leuven), Veerle Devulder (KU Leuven, UGent), Thomas Fenn (Yale University), Monica Ganio (Northwestern University), Johan Honings (KU Leuven), Rebecca Scott (KU Leuven)

Among glass craftsman active in the 1st century A.D., the most famous and gifted was Ennion, who hailed from the coastal city of Sidon in modern Lebanon. Ennion’s glass stood out for its quality and popularity. His products are distinguished by the fine detail and precision of their relief decoration, which imitates designs found on contemporaneous silverware. This compact, but thorough volume examines the most innovative and elegant known examples of Roman mold-blown glass, providing a uniquely comprehensive, up-to-date study of these exceptional works. Included are some twenty-six remarkably preserved examples of drinking cups, bowls, and jugs signed by Ennion himself, as well as fifteen additional vessels that were clearly influenced by him. The informative texts and illustrations effectively convey the lasting aesthetic appeal of Ennion’s vessels, and offer an accessible introduction to an ancient art form that reached its apogee in the early decades of the Roman Empire.

A useful collection of papers on the first two centuries of Roman glass-making given at the symposium organised by the Society of Antiquaries in honour of Donald Harden, at the time of the Glass of the Caesars' exhibition. Contributors include: David Whitehouse, Jennifer Price, Dan Barag, Sophia van Lith, Lucia Scatozza Horicht, Yael Israeli and the editors.

Glass of the Roman World illustrates the arrival of new cultural systems, mechanisms of trade and an expanded economic base in the early 1st millennium AD which, in combination, allowed the further development of the existing glass industry. Glass became something which encompassed more than simply a novel and highly decorative material. Glass production grew and its consumption increased until it was assimilated into all levels of society, used for display and luxury items but equally for utilitarian containers, windows and even tools. These 18 papers by renowned international scholars include studies of glass from Europe and the Near East. The authors write on a variety of topics where their work is at the forefront of new approaches to the subject. They both extend and consolidate aspects of our understanding of how glass was produced, traded and used throughout the Empire and the wider world drawing on chronology, typology, patterns of distribution, and other methodologies, including the incorporation of new scientific methods. Though focusing on a single material the papers are firmly based in its archaeological context in the wider economy of the Roman world, and consider glass as part of a complex material culture controlled by the expansion and contraction of the Empire. The volume is presented in honor of Jenny Price, a foremost scholar of Roman glass.

This lavishly illustrated book places glass in its social setting within the Roman household. The volume was written to accompany the traveling exhibition Roman Glass: Reflections on Cultural Change. Through a series of vignettes, the author tells the story of the development of the glass industry in the Roman Empire and the role of glass in the daily routines of the ancient Romans. During the reign of Rome's first emperor, Augustus (27 B.C.-A.D. 14), as several well-established industries such as pottery- and textile-making were being expanded, the craft of glassmaking was adopted from the East, turned into an industry, and adapted to Roman taste. By the mid-first century A.D. glass rivaled pottery in the domestic marketplace. It was used for tableware and storage containers to hold everything from preserved fish to fine perfumes. Glass featured strongly in the Roman daily routine, from the early morning, when maids would apply perfumed lotions to their mistress in preparation for her social rounds, to the late afternoon, when slaves would bring platters of food, bowls of fruit, and jugs of wine—all of glass—to the supper table. And there was a place for glass even in Roman funerary ritual, because it was custom to include all manner of domestic items among the grave furnishings, to add comfort to the afterlife.