MONOCHROME OPAQUE RED PATELLA CUP of Nico F. Bijnsdorp
First half of 1st century AD. Mediterranean, probably Italian.
H= 4.7 cm. D max= 9.4 cm. D rim= 9.4 cm. D base= 4.1 cm. Weight 96 gr.
Classification: Isings 1957: Form 2. Grose 1989: Family III.
Condition: Intact. Exterior __with patches of copper-green weathering.
Technique: Cast. Rotary-polished on in- and exterior. Base ring cast as part of the vessel.
Description: Opaque red glass __with characteristic copper-green weathering. Carinated bowl with almost horizontal rim with flat edge. Sides with two convex curves. Upper side of floor slightly concave, underside convex. Outsplayed base-ring with flat edge, cast in one piece with the bowl.
Remarks: Hellenistic glass makers already produced monochrome vessels in opaque colors in the second half of the 1st century BC. The green patches may denote the copper exuding from the glass. The production of opaque red glass is very complicated since it will color into black or green when the casting is done in oxidizing atmosphere. It has been stated, that the glass bowl of this type was an imitation of the ceramic form, however, the form in glass seems to appear earlier than in ceramic.
Provenance: The Alfred Wolkenberg Collection.
Published: Antiek Glas 2001, video film Allard Pierson Museum. Christie’s 3 July 1996, No. 272. Christie’s 9 July 1991, The Alfred Wolkenberg Collection, No. 100.
Exhibited: Thermenmuseum, Heerlen (NL), Romeins Glas uit Particulier Bezit, 29 April – 28 August 2011, No. 003. Allard Pierson Museum, Amsterdam (NL), De Kunst van het Vuur, 17 May – 16 September 2001, No. 19.
References: Grose 1989, Toledo Museum, No. 419. Sotheby 4/5 June 1979, The Constable Maxwell Collection, No. Christie’s 5/6 March 1985, Kofler-Truniger Collection, No. 166. Christie’s 8 June 2007, No. 80. Stern 1994, Ernesto Wolf Collection, No. 99.