Sep
15
Antique European Glass and Glass-makers
September 15, 2009 |
There is no reason to disbelieve that
ancient glass-blowers did exactly the same
as just described. The small-mould blown
Sidonian vessels are amongst the earliest
examples of the technique. Some are
stamped on pads by the handle with the
name of the maker and the word ‘Sidon’,
which was famous in antiquity as a glass-
making centre. The glass-maker Ennion,
one of the first to have signed his products,
appears to have worked first in Syria at
Sidon, then to have moved on to the
Italian peninsula. His work exhibits a high
degree of mastery of the technique of
mould-blowing, and his inscribed pieces
include jugs, cups and two-handled vases.
These are decorated with stylised plant-
forms and reeding in the style of the red
glazed pottery of the time known as
‘Samian’ ware. A little later other signa-
tures or trade-marks appear on glass
vessels, the most famous being Jason,
Meges, Neikaios, Artas and Ariston.
Blowing and Moulding
‘HEAD KLASK’ IN GREENISH GLASS, MOULD-BLOWN
Cyprus, ist century A.D. Hi. 198 mm (78 in.)
Head flasks occur fairly frequently in finds
from the Roman period. Originally, these
vessels played an important role in early
Greek and Cretan religious rites. During
the Hellenic period they were adapted for
profane use, and finally, in the Rome of
Nero’s time, they were used purely for
amusement. Thus mis-shapen faces and
two-headed (Janus) flasks are seen, and
even the features of Nero’s court fool, a
shoemaker, can be found; hence the
German name for these objects, Schuster-
gldser (shoemaker glasses). There is a story
that the Emperor Commodus himself
made such vessels. Some of the heads are
of handsome proportions and detail,
though more are rather crudely fashioned,
with indistinct features. They are found in
other colours besides green, such as blue
and opaque white glass: Syrian and
Palestinian head flasks are reputed to be
better finished than the ones produced in
Gaul and the Rhineland, the mould scam
left by the two- or three-part moulds being
almost unnoticeable in the former.
FLASK IN YELLOWISH-GRH.N 1,1 ASS, \ti)UIJ)-BLOW i
Syria, ist century A.I). Ht. 133-5 mm (5′25
In early Imperial times Roman glass-
makers commemorated events with their
so-called ‘Victory cups’. These were broad,
mainly cylindrical vessels, which w^re
moulded with laurels and inscriptions suJch
as ‘VICTORIAE AVGVSTOR (urn)
PEL (id)’. The Victory flask illustrated
belongs to this class of vessels, and is made
of clear yellowish-green glass, the straight-
sided body being moulded with a pattern
of laurels and festoons. Another class: of
greenish moulded bottle, of cylindrical! or
barrel shape, with ‘hoops’ at top and
bottom, has turned up frequently in Gaul
(France) and the West. The makers’ names
are often moulded on the base, the mbst
famous being that of Frontinus, wiho
apparently had a glass-works in Gaul, at
Boulogne or Amiens, flourishing in I he
3rd and 4th centuries A.D. Coins of
Constantine and other 4th-century AJD.
emperors have been found buried wjth
these bottles in Roman tombs. The
Frontinus bottles have never been found
in the East.
Blowing and Moulding
‘circus beaker’ in green-tinted glass,
mould-blown
Found al Colchester, England, mid-ist century A.D.
Ht. 75-78 mm (2-95-3-1 in.)
It has been suggested that the Roman
glass-maker Ennion and his contempora-
ries sent workers to spread the blowing
technique to other parts of the Roman
Empire. Certainly by A.D. 40-50 Italian
glass-workers were established in the
Alpine area and had spread northwards
and westwards into Gaul, Germany and
the Alpine provinces. Very possibly En-
nion’s north Italian shop set up a sub-
sidiary glass-house at Briigg (Vindonissa)
in Switzerland or Lyons in France. This
daughter glass-house is thought to have
produced mould-blown cups decorated
with scenes of the arena or circus. The
‘Circus Beaker’ in olive-green glass shown
here is a good example of this type of
vessel. The vast majority of such beakers
come from the Alpine, Gallic and Rhenish
provinces and Britain. Scenes depicted are
of chariot-racing and gladiators in combat,
sometimes indistinctly moulded and often
accompanied by names, possibly of fav-
ourite performers.
beaker in amber glass, mould-blown
Syria, second half of the ist century A.D.
Ht. 208 mm (8-15 in.)
The beaker illustrated, with bosses mould-
ed in relief, is one of a series thought to
have originated in Sidon. Similar beakers
have been found at Pompeii and in the
south of France. The design is reminiscent
of the later Nuppenbecher of Germany, or
even of the claw beakers of the Dark Ages
(though the decoration in the latter cases
was applied and was not formed with the
mould). The aim of the decoration may
have been the same, that is, to give the
drinker a steady grip of the glass by means
of the raised bosses, or alternatively, to
give the glass a jewel-like appearance. The
beakers with bosses are usually partially
covered with a layer of corrosion or
weathering, but if this were to be removed
the glasses would shine with all their old
splendour, the deep shades and light tints
caused by the variations in the surface of
the glass forming effective contrasts. The
beaker shown was made in a tripartite
mould, and the rim was cut and ground
smooth. There is a raised horizontal rib
50 mm (1-95 in.) above the base.