Ancient Gold Glass: How It Was Made and Used in Roman Times
Gold glass, also called gold sandwich glass, is a decorative type of glass where a design made with gold leaf sits between two glass layers. This technique first showed up in Hellenistic Greece but became more common in the Roman Empire, especially during the 3rd and 4th centuries AD. Roman glassmakers used this style to decorate round inserts in cups and other vessels. Later, many of these decorated pieces were cut out and used in Roman catacombs as grave markers. They were placed in the small wall spaces where bodies had been buried. Around 500 of these gold glass grave markers have been found so far. Fully intact gold glass vessels are much harder to come by.
The images on these gold glass pieces include a wide range of subjects. Some show scenes from Christianity, while others show elements of older Roman religions or Jewish symbols. A few have portraits of the people who owned them. The best of these portraits are very detailed and are considered some of the clearest images we have from the early Christian period. The faces are intense, often with serious or sad expressions that feel very personal. The technique of using gold leaf in this way also appeared in mosaics starting in the 1st century AD to add a gold color to the artwork.
There are other techniques that look like gold glass but are made differently. One example is called Zwischengoldglas, which comes mostly from Germany and Bohemia in the 1700s and 1800s. It uses two layers of glass with gold leaf in between, but instead of fusing the glass with heat, the layers are glued together. Another method, verre églomisé, uses just one layer of glass. The back of the glass is gilded or coated with metal leaf. This technique was used in things like 19th-century shop signs. A man named Jean-Baptiste Glomy brought this method back into use in the 1700s, which is why his name is tied to it. Both Zwischengoldglas and verre églomisé have roots in ancient practices. In German and French, these traditional names are still used instead of the English term "gold glass."
There is also gold ruby glass, sometimes called cranberry glass, which is different. It's red glass made by adding gold oxide to it. Another related style is gold-band glass, which was used in ancient times and involves a different method, described elsewhere.
Making gold glass during the Late Roman period took a lot of skill. First, glassmakers would start with a blown glass sphere that had a flat bottom. They would cut out a small flat disc, usually three to five inches wide, from the bottom of this sphere. This disc could be made from clear or colored glass. Then, they glued a thin sheet of gold leaf to this disc using gum arabic. The design was made by scraping away parts of the gold leaf to form an image.
The main part of the vessel, usually a cup or bowl, was made separately by blowing and cutting glass. It also had a flat bottom, the same size as the decorated disc. The two parts were then reheated and carefully fused together by lowering the vessel onto the disc so that the bottoms melted into one piece. After that, the whole vessel was heated again to make sure the layers fully fused. Though sources from different times describe small differences in how this was done, the overall method stayed mostly the same.
Gold Glass in Hellenistic and Roman Art: Techniques, Uses, and Variations
Larger gold glass bowls from the Hellenistic period were most likely shaped using molds rather than blown. This is because the structure of these bowls involved a double layer, with one vessel inside another. For this to work, both layers had to fit together precisely, which points to a molding process. Some of the more refined gold glass medallions that appeared later seem to have been made in this doubled form from the beginning. These often included pigments in addition to gold leaf, adding more depth and variation to the designs.
These smoother-edged medallions used the glass itself as a base for miniature portraits. Glass turned out to be a highly durable surface for this purpose, lasting longer than most other materials except engraved gemstones and precious metals. Many of these medallions were probably meant to be displayed by hanging or mounted in jewelry, especially the smaller ones like the example known as Gennadios. Others were created for use in funerary settings. A good number of these portrait pieces were set against a base of blue glass, which provided a strong contrast to the gold and other colors.
There are also Roman glass vessels from Cologne that show a different style. These include what are called "sidewall blobs." These are small gold glass medallions, each about two to three centimeters wide, that were fused directly into the walls of the vessel. They contain images, just like the freestanding medallions, but are worked into the structure of the glass itself.
Besides decorative roundels with portraits or figures, the fused sandwich method was also used to make tesserae for mosaics. These gold tesserae, especially by the time of the Byzantine Empire, had a very thin layer of glass on top. That thin layer was likely poured over a lower glass surface that already had gold leaf glued onto it. To create these, glassmakers poured or shaped the glass into blocks or "cakes" and then cut them into cube-shaped tesserae. For gold backgrounds in mosaics, these cubes were often larger than those used for other colors. They were laid over backgrounds painted in earthy red or yellow ochre tones, which made the gold stand out more.
Most mosaic tesserae were probably made locally at the site where the mosaic was being installed. But there is some debate about whether that was true for gold glass tesserae. In one example from the 11th century, the Christian center of Kiev appears to have used gold tesserae that were produced in Constantinople, suggesting some long-distance trade in these materials.
Roman gold glass beads were made using a different technique. Glassmakers would start with an inner rod or tube. Gold leaf was attached to this core, then a larger glass tube was placed over it. The combined structure was then crimped to form individual beads. These beads were not only visually striking but also easy to transport. Because of this, Roman gold glass beads have turned up far beyond the borders of the Roman Empire. They have been found at archaeological sites as far as the Wari-Bateshwar ruins in Bangladesh, as well as in China, Korea, Thailand, and Malaysia.
A related technique from the Hellenistic and Roman periods is called gold-band glass. This involved layering strips of gold leaf between clear glass and using that in marbled patterns that mimic the look of onyx. Gold-band glass appears mostly in small objects like perfume bottles, where the marbled gold designs added decorative appeal.
Gold Glass Cups in Late Roman Times: Use, Design, and Burial Practices
In late Roman times, the most common type of gold glass vessel was a bowl or drinking cup. These were likely made as family gifts for special occasions like weddings, anniversaries, New Year celebrations, religious festivals, and sometimes even at the birth of a child or during a Christian baptism. Although no full gold glass cups or bowls used as grave markers have survived intact, about 500 of their cut-off bottoms have been recovered. Because many of these pieces carry inscriptions that encourage the owner to drink, they are often described as "cups" or "glasses."
Roman drinking vessels were often wide and shallow, although some had tall, straight or slightly flared sides similar to modern tumblers. A mosaic found in the ruins of Dougga in North Africa shows two large slaves pouring wine from amphorae into shallow bowls held by serving slaves. Each amphora has a Greek inscription: "ΠΙΕ" and "ΣΗϹΗϹ," which are the original forms of the common Roman toast "pie zeses," meaning "Drink, may you live." This mosaic suggests the kind of shape a full gold glass cup might have had.
Many of these gold glass roundels were later reused in the Roman catacombs as grave markers. This probably happened long after the original vessel had been in use, possibly for decades. When the owner died, the main body of the cup, which was undecorated, was removed or had already broken during use, and the decorated glass base was saved. This base was then placed in a grave as a marker. Bodies in the catacombs were buried in narrow niches called loculi, stacked vertically along rock-cut corridors. Some kind of marker would have been needed to help visitors find specific graves. These roundels may have served that purpose and might also have acted as a seal for the grave. They were pressed into the final layer of mortar or stucco that sealed the opening of the loculus. Other small decorative items were also used this way. In the later period, when images of saints became more common, the roundels might have also been seen as protective, possibly meant to guard the dead from evil spirits.
Many roundels show rough, uneven edges. This is likely because the trimming was done quickly or with little concern for appearance. A piece in the Metropolitan Museum of Art still has mortar stuck around most of its edge, showing that the mortar had overlapped the glass. In most cases, the rough edges were not visible, hidden behind the wall material and possibly helping the mortar grip the glass more firmly. The New York example, however, is an exception, with edges that are unusually clean and neatly trimmed.
The decoration on many of these roundels includes portraits of individuals, often married couples. These may have included the person who died. Other portraits show religious figures, such as saints, or display symbols tied to religious beliefs. These images appear in Christian, Jewish, and pagan Roman pieces. There are at least thirteen roundels that clearly show Jewish themes. The imagery on these pieces mirrors what is seen in catacomb paintings and other early Christian and Jewish art from the same time.
As Christian art continued to develop in the later 4th and 5th centuries, the types of images found in gold glass also changed. These shifts in subject matter and style reflect the broader changes in religious art before the catacombs were no longer in use and production of these gold glass pieces came to an end.
Hellenistic Gold Glass: Early Origins and Artistic Advances in Ancient Glassmaking
The use of gold glass began during the Hellenistic period, and pieces from that era show a higher level of technical complexity and artistry compared to later Roman examples. Hellenistic glassmakers often created wide bowls and drinking cups decorated along the entire curved interior with intricate gold designs. These early works were not only more ambitious in form but also executed with greater attention to detail.
One of the best-preserved Hellenistic gold glass pieces is housed in the British Museum. Although broken and later repaired, the bowl is nearly complete and measures 19.3 centimeters wide and 11.4 centimeters tall. It was discovered in a tomb at Canosa in Apulia and dates to somewhere between 270 and 160 BC. The bowl’s interior is almost entirely covered in fine decorative patterns featuring lotus and acanthus motifs. These kinds of plant-based designs were more common in Hellenistic gold glass than human figures, which appeared more often in later Roman examples. A few other near-complete Hellenistic vessels survive, along with a larger number of fragmentary remains.
Most of these early pieces are believed to have been made in Alexandria, Egypt, which was known in antiquity as a center for luxurious glass production. Several ancient writers, including the Roman satirist Martial, mention Alexandria as a source of overly elaborate glassware. One surviving example from this period may show a landscape along the Nile, a theme that was also popular in other regions. However, gold glass fragments have also turned up during excavations of a glass workshop on the island of Rhodes, suggesting that more than one location was producing this type of art.
A text that may date from the 270s BC and survives through the writings of Athenaeus describes two vessels said to contain gold. The term used is diachysa, which likely refers to the same gold leaf technique used in gold glass. This description supports the idea that the process was already known and practiced at that early stage.
Starting in the 1st century AD, gold glass began to be used differently, as tiny tiles, or tesserae, in mosaics. The earliest use of gold glass tesserae in home decoration appears to have been in Rome. From there, this practice continued without pause through the ancient, medieval, and modern eras. Around the year 400, gold started being used as the background color in Christian religious mosaics, a style that would dominate throughout the Byzantine period.
The decorated gold glass pieces from late Roman times are generally believed to have been made in and around Rome. This is especially likely in the case of portraits showing people who lived there. However, other production centers existed, such as the Rhineland in what is now Germany, particularly in cities like Cologne and Augusta Treverorum, now called Trier. These places were already known for producing high-end glass items like cage cups. Alexandria remained an important location for glassmaking as well. Based on the languages used in inscriptions, some scholars suggest that the technique - and possibly the artisans themselves - may have spread from Alexandria to Rome and into parts of Germany. Still, it could also be that more Alexandrian-style works survived compared to those made elsewhere, which makes it difficult to trace the full history with certainty.
Another well-known body of artwork from the same time is the group of painted portraits found on Fayum mummy coverings from Egypt. These, like many gold glass portraits, also depict middle-class individuals and offer a rare look at real people from that era. Beyond the examples from the Rhineland, a smaller number of gold glass vessel bases have been found in parts of northern Italy, Hungary, and Croatia.
A good example of Alexandrian craftsmanship is the Gennadios medallion, now in New York. This piece is a portrait on blue glass made using a more advanced technique than what was common in Rome. It includes painted shading on the gold surface to create depth and realism. The inscription is in Greek and shows traits of the Alexandrian dialect. It’s possible that the medallion was commissioned to honor a victory in a music contest.
One of the most famous Alexandrian-style gold glass portraits was later set into a decorated cross, or crux gemmata, during the early medieval period. This cross was located in Brescia, Italy. At the time, people mistakenly believed that the image showed the empress and Gothic queen Galla Placidia and her children. But the central figure’s dress includes a knot that may identify her as a follower of the goddess Isis instead. The portrait also shares features with the Fayum mummy paintings, both in style and in the use of Greek written in the Alexandrian dialect. This particular medallion is one of fourteen from the 3rd century AD that feature highly detailed, individual secular portraits.
Scholar Jás Elsner has argued that the Brescia medallion, which was probably made in Alexandria and features a Greek inscription in the local dialect, could have been created any time between the early 3rd and mid 5th century AD. It was eventually brought to Italy, where it was placed into a Christian cross in the 7th century.
Gold Glass Inscriptions and Designs: Roman Techniques, Styles, and Meanings
Experts believe that the level of fine detail seen in many gold glass pieces could only have been done with the help of lenses. This kind of precision would have been difficult to achieve by hand alone. When comparing different examples, the "Alexandrian" medallions tend to have a thin and simple gold line around the image. Roman versions, however, often feature thicker and more complex frames. Many use two circular borders around the design. The style of these borders helps scholars link pieces to specific workshops. Still, the portraits themselves are not highly realistic. Most follow general templates for faces, hairstyles, and clothing, rather than showing unique traits.
A rare example of a complete gold glass vessel, known as the "Alexander plate with hunting scene," is held by the Cleveland Museum of Art. If confirmed to be authentic, it represents a high-status object from the upper class of Roman society. This shallow bowl or plate is 25.7 centimeters wide and 4.5 centimeters tall. The flat round panel in the center takes up about two-thirds of the total width. The image shows a man on horseback holding a spear, chasing two elk. Below the horse, another man with a hound on a leash is facing a wild boar.
There is also a Latin inscription that reads: “ALEXANDER HOMO FELIX PIE ZESES CUM TUIS.” In English, it means: “Alexander, fortunate man, drink, may you live, together with yours.” Scholars have debated the identity of this “Alexander.” Most agree he was likely a private citizen, probably a member of the aristocracy. He was probably not meant to represent either Alexander the Great or the Roman Emperor Alexander Severus. The object likely dates slightly after Severus's reign, and during his time, referring to him simply as "man" would have been inappropriate.
The phrase “ZESES,” written in Latin letters, is a Greek word that means “live” or “may you live.” It appears often in inscriptions on gold glass, sometimes as the only word. It is more common than the Latin version “VIVAS.” This is likely because the Greek version had a more refined tone, similar to how people might say “bon appétit” in English. In two Christian examples showing Jesus, the word “ZESES” is intentionally misspelled as “ZESUS.” This creates a kind of pun that connects the drinking toast with the name “Jesus.”
These kinds of secular blessings appear often. Even on pieces with religious scenes, the message usually encourages the viewer to drink or celebrate. One Jewish example has standard religious symbols along with the message: “Drink, [so] you may live, Elares.” The Wedding at Cana, a story from the New Testament, is a favorite Christian theme. One version of this scene includes the phrase: “Worthy of your friends, may you live in the peace of God, drink.” Another popular phrase found on several pieces is “DIGNITAS AMICORUM,” meaning “[you are] the honor of your friends.” Most inscriptions are made up of either names, common blessings, or both. One example has a longer version combining several phrases: “DIGNITAS AMICORVM PIE ZESES VIVAS.” This reflects a common habit of stacking multiple traditional phrases into one inscription.
These friendly or celebratory messages are not unique to gold glass. Similar inscriptions are found on high-end Roman cage cups, also known as diatreta, which were even more luxurious items.
Roman Gold Glass Art: Biblical Scenes, Portraits, and Private Life in Ancient Glassware
One example of Roman gold glass is a round base cut from a larger bowl, found in the catacombs and now held in the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford. This piece measures 10.8 centimeters across. It features five abbreviated scenes from both the Old and New Testaments, arranged around a central roundel showing a married couple. The outer figures have their feet pointed toward the center, giving the layout a unified structure.
Another well-known piece is a large and complex bowl from Cologne. It was once fully decorated with Christian imagery and portraits of Roman emperors. Because of its size (8.6 centimeters tall and 11.4 centimeters in diameter), it was never fused with a second glass layer. As a result, all the gold leaf has worn away over time, but the outlines of the original images remain visible. This bowl is especially useful for dating because it includes portraits of the sons of Emperor Constantine I. These portraits suggest the bowl was made around the year 326, which marked Constantine’s vicennalia, or the 25th anniversary of his reign.
Another complete example is a paten, a type of plate used during Christian services, from the Basilica of St. Severin in Cologne, a church founded in the 4th century. This paten is decorated with roundels that contain scenes from the Old Testament and various floral designs. According to the Liber Pontificalis, Pope Zephyrinus, who served from 199 to 217, had approved the use of glass patens for church rituals. Other patens made with different glass techniques from this time still survive.
A unique variation of the gold glass method appears in a small group of vessels also from Cologne. These pieces have what are referred to as “sidewall blobs.” In these, small gold glass medallions showing images are fused directly into the side walls of the vessel. One of the few known examples of this style was found in the cemetery of St. Severin.
Nearly all the bases of Roman glass vessels decorated using this gold leaf method include images of some kind. Around 240 of them also carry inscriptions that are still readable. Together, these make up about half of all known examples of Roman gold glass. The most common subjects are portraits, but some pieces also include small narrative scenes. Most of these show Christian themes, though a few feature pagan stories. About half of the full collection of gold glass includes portraits of Christian religious figures.
There are also a few gold glasses that show scenes related to sports, animals, or decorative elements like wreaths. One piece stands out for having a plant as the main image. There are no known examples of these glasses showing portraits of Roman emperors or military events. This is a clear contrast to Roman public art, which often focused on politics, war, and state power. Instead, gold glass focuses on personal, religious, and domestic subjects. Apart from a single image of a nearly nude Venus and a few figures of erotes (small winged love gods), there is almost no sexual content, which again sets these pieces apart from much of Roman art that often included erotic themes.
Most gold glass designs feature a single image taking up the central round space. But some are more complex, with smaller scenes set in circular frames that surround a central image. Most of the portraits show the upper part of the body, either from the bust up or from the waist up. There are a small number of gold glass pieces with Jewish imagery, which are discussed separately elsewhere.
Portraits, Saints, and Symbols in Ancient Roman Gold Glass Art
Many pieces of gold glass feature either portraits or inscriptions that name private individuals. These personal touches are common, but there are also examples without any names or likenesses. Those might have been bought from a seller's general stock, rather than made for a specific person. In the earlier periods, portraits of married couples show up the most. Later, images of saints became more frequent. Often, both types appear on the same piece.
It can be hard to tell whether a figure is a portrait of a real person or a saint. Even when there are inscriptions, called tituli, or hints in the clothing styles, it is not always clear. Typically, the person who owned the glass is shown wearing clothing from the current time, while saints are dressed in older, more traditional styles. But this rule was not always followed. For example, Pope Damasus I, who ruled from 366 to 384, is shown on at least four pieces of gold glass, or at least scholars believe the inscription "DAMAS" refers to him. That’s unusual, because living clerics were rarely portrayed.
Images of Saints Peter and Paul are especially common. They often face each other in profile but sometimes appear with other people. Since both were martyred in Rome, they were especially popular in that city. Local martyrs like Saint Agnes also appear frequently. According to historian Lucy Grig, the number of Roman saints on these glass pieces stands out. Scholars think five popes from the 3rd and 4th centuries may be shown as well.
Depictions of Christ also appear. He is usually shown clean-shaven and young. Other figures, like the Good Shepherd, are sometimes meant to represent Christ too. In some pieces, the image might also be read as Orpheus or simply as a pastoral figure. Occasionally, a small image of Christ is placed between the heads of a married couple, offering a blessing.
There are also many figures shown in the orant pose, with arms raised in prayer. These are almost always female and may represent the soul of the deceased, unless clearly meant to be saints. The Virgin Mary and other female saints are always shown this way too, just as they are in catacomb paintings.
Scenes from the Old Testament appear more often than scenes from Christ’s life. Like the wall paintings in the catacombs, the same stories are shown over and over again. These are usually about deliverance or survival: Jonah and the big fish, Daniel in the lions’ den, and the three young men in the fiery furnace. But the kinds of scenes that became popular in later Christian art, like those tied to the church calendar, are almost never shown on these glasses.
Only two scenes from non-Christian stories appear. One shows a labor of Hercules, and another shows Achilles. There are two more tiny images of Hercules on the sides of another piece. Some items also have figures that look like portraits, though they are mixed with religious figures, just like in Christian pieces.
A few glasses show sports scenes. There are images of wrestlers, boxers, a gladiator, and several chariot racing teams. Some of these scenes seem to celebrate victories in sports, music, or theater. They include palm branches and crowns, symbols often used for victory. These glasses might have been given to people who won contests, either in amateur or professional settings. For example, one portrait shows Gennadios of Alexandria, a known figure.
Two identical pieces show two boxers with a trainer. All three are named. This suggests that people may have ordered glasses in sets. While this is only a guess, it is likely that this was done more often than we know.
Other one-off images include Athena watching over shipbuilders, female figures that represent the cities of Rome and Constantinople, and personifications of the monetae or Roman mints, which often appear on coins. Some glasses include animals that might have symbolic meanings. Others show objects like scrolls or wreaths, which may have had special value or meaning to the owner.
Jewish and Pagan Inscriptions on Late Roman Gold Glass: Names, Phrases, and Cultural Overlap
Most inscriptions on Late Roman gold glass are short and formulaic, regardless of the image they accompany. Names are the most common element, usually written alone or with brief celebratory phrases. These phrases, often referred to as "convivial formulae," might include words like vivas or zeses, which suggest a wish for life or well-being. However, these phrases don’t often make any direct religious references. The use of just one name, typically a cognomen, makes it hard to connect these individuals to any historical records that survive. Even so, a few glasses can tentatively be linked to real people, including three that might match known individuals and one tied to a prominent family: the family of the poet Ausonius. These people likely came from the upper class, the kind who would normally be buried in sarcophagi rather than in wall niches. It's possible the glasses were given to or inherited by their friends, clients, or household dependents.
One notable glass in the British Museum stands out for several reasons. It shows a named couple, Orfitus and Constantia, with a smaller figure of Hercules between them. The inscription reads: ORFITVS ET CONSTANTIA IN NOMINE HERCVLIS ACERENTINO FELICES BIBATIS, meaning "Orfitus and Constantia, may you drink in happiness in the name of Hercules of Acerentia." This may refer to Memmius Vitruvius Orfitus, a Roman prefect, and his wife. Acerentia, a town in southern Italy, had a local cult devoted to Hercules. Some historians believe Orfitus played a key role in the pagan revival movement of his time, using his influence to promote traditional Roman beliefs.
Out of more than 500 surviving gold glass bases from the Late Roman period, only 13 can be clearly identified as Jewish. Even so, this small group has been described as one of the most compelling sets of Jewish artifacts from antiquity. These pieces were also likely used in the Roman catacombs as grave markers. Like with Christian and pagan examples, most of their discovery sites remain undocumented. Interestingly, the only two with known origins were actually found in Christian catacombs, not Jewish ones. Meanwhile, the few fragments found in Jewish catacombs show no signs of Jewish symbols. This suggests that some Roman Jews had no issue using gold glass with pagan imagery.
The Jewish roundels that are clearly identified do not feature portraits. Except for one example, they follow a common format that focuses on religious symbols. The typical layout has two levels. On the top, there are two Lions of Judah flanking a Torah ark. Below that, common symbols include two menorahs, a shofar (a ram’s horn), an etrog (a citrus fruit), a lulav (palm frond), possibly other parts of the Four Species used during the festival of Sukkot, scrolls, and vases. Some of the smaller details are too faint to be identified with certainty. In some cases, all of the objects are placed in the upper section, above a banquet scene. One rare piece breaks from this pattern and might show the Temple of Jerusalem, possibly connected to the celebration of Purim.
Experts generally agree that Jewish buyers ordered their glass from the same workshops used by other religious groups. These workshops likely kept standard patterns for different religions or accepted design sketches from clients. Attempts to group these items by production source have sometimes linked Jewish and non-Jewish pieces to the same workshop. Aside from their use of symbols instead of portraits, the Jewish pieces were handled and used in ways very similar to others. This pattern matches how other Jewish objects from Rome at the time show a blending with Roman customs. Of the 13 known Jewish examples, five include the phrase pie zeses, and two have anima dulcis, which means "sweet soul" or "sweetheart." These phrases were also commonly used in Christian and pagan items. Another phrase, vivas cum ..., meaning "live with ...", appears in both Jewish and non-Jewish inscriptions. The glass pieces seem to have been used as gifts, likely exchanged on occasions such as New Year’s, following a Roman tradition that Jewish communities also practiced.
Later Use of Gold Glass in Mosaics and Islamic Art
The use of gold glass did not end with the Roman Empire. The technique continued, especially in mosaic work. Artists used it for mosaic tesserae, sometimes creating pieces larger than usual. One example is a small tile now in New York that shows a cross pattern. It likely came from a Syrian church and dates somewhere between the 9th and 12th centuries.
A small number of Islamic glass vessels also feature gold decoration. These date to around the 10th century and are thought to be from Syria. Their designs are mostly simple plant-like patterns. The most complete of these vessels are decorated over a wide curved surface. To achieve this, glassmakers probably used a "double vessel" method, where one vessel fits inside another. These Islamic examples have more in common with the earlier Hellenistic styles than with typical Roman ones.
Rediscovery and Collection of Roman Gold Glass from the 17th Century Onward
Interest in Roman gold glass picked up again in the 17th century. Scholars and collectors began to explore the Roman catacombs, where many of these gold glass pieces had been placed centuries earlier as grave markers. Unfortunately, the removal of these items was often careless. There was little to no effort to document their original positions, and now only a few remain in place inside the catacombs.
The first major study of these ancient glasses came in 1716 from Filippo Buonarroti. He published a work titled Osservazioni sopra alcuni frammenti di vasi antichi di vetro ornate di figure trovati nei cimiteri di Roma, which means Observations on some fragments of antique glass vases decorated with figures, found in the cemeteries of Rome. In it, Buonarroti made a bold claim. He argued that the simple, sometimes crude look of early Christian art helped deepen religious devotion. This idea, which later came to be known as a kind of respect for primitive art, was unusual for his time.
Further studies followed. In 1858, Jesuit scholar Raffaele Garrucci published the first illustrated survey of these pieces. He released a more complete version in 1864. During the 19th century, interest in Roman gold glass led to the creation of many imitations. Some were honest copies, while others were forgeries. Most of these were made in Murano near Venice, by glassmakers like Salviati. The first major public display of such work happened at the Exposition Universelle in Paris in 1878, where Italian firms presented their versions.
Major Gold Glass Collections in Museums Around the World
Today, museums across the world house Roman gold glass, especially the circular bases of ancient vessels. The largest collection is in the Vatican Museums. The British Museum holds the second largest group, with 60 pieces of Late Antique gold glass. A research project focused on this collection was expected to finish in 2010.
The Ashmolean Museum at Oxford has the third largest group, known as the Wilshere Collection, with around 34 pieces. The Corning Museum of Glass in New York State has 18 examples. The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York holds nearly the same number.
Several detailed catalogues have been published since the 1700s. One of the most important is by C.R. Morey, released in 1959, which lists 460 Roman vessel bases. Another key work is the 2000 thesis by S. Smith, which records 426 items. More pieces are added now and then as new discoveries are made, so the known total keeps growing.
