Glass Vessels
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The Collection of Classical Antiquities holds an extensive collection of ancient glass vessels. It includes a small number of early examples from the Archaic period as well as numerous Roman glass vessels, primarily originating from the eastern Mediterranean, including Asia Minor and Syria. Most of these objects date from the second to the fourth century AD. The generally excellent state of preservation of these delicate vessels suggests that many were deposited as grave goods. Glass production developed during the third millennium BC, probably in Mesopotamia. The earliest glass objects included beads, seals, and pendants. The oldest known glass vessels, originating from Egypt, date to the sixteenth century BC and were primarily small containers such as unguent bottles. Because of the technically demanding and labour-intensive production process, such objects were regarded as valuable luxury goods. Glass beads and pendants are also known from Mycenaean contexts. Early glass vessels were produced using the so-called sand-core technique. In this process, a core made of clay and sand was either dipped into molten glass or wrapped with threads of molten glass. Additional decorative elements could then be applied to the vessel surface. Once the glass had cooled, the core was removed. These vessels are generally small in size and often characterised by multicoloured decoration. Knowledge of glass production spread from Egypt and the ancient Near East to Greece, where glass remained less significant than ceramic production. Until the Hellenistic period, smaller vessels continued to be formed over a sand core. It was not until the invention of the blowpipe in the first century BC in Sidon, Phoenicia, that the mass production of thin-walled glass vessels became possible. This technique required glass to be melted at temperatures exceeding 1000°C and worked while still viscous. Using the blowpipe, artisans could inflate molten glass into a wide variety of shapes, enabling the comparatively simple and inexpensive serial production of glass vessels. From the Augustan period onward, this new manufacturing technique spread throughout the Roman Empire and led to the establishment of numerous production centres. Roman glass was produced in a wide range of colours and forms and could be decorated with contrasting coloured trails, metal inlays, or engraved ornamentation. Owing to increasingly efficient production methods, glass also came to be used for additional purposes in the Roman period, including window panes (specularia).
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