Glass spoon

Unknown

1st–3rd century CE · Glass · Greek and Roman Art

Translucent blue green. Fire-rounded, thick, uneven rim, forming end of handle; long hollow neck, tooled in around base, forming handle; body shaped into bowl of spoon with angular bottom and tubular edge. Intact, but small weathered chips in bottom edge of bowl; some elongated bubbles in neck; slight dulling and pitting, and faint weathering on exterior, some soil encrustation and iridescent weathering on interior. This spoon, which is said to have been found near the Sea of Galilee, was made from a single blown tube that was then tooled to shape the bowl and handle. Although rare, such glass spoons were probably produced throughout the Roman period, and they persisted even into Islamic times.

Artist

Unknown

Date

1st–3rd century CE

Medium

Glass

Culture

Roman

Department

Greek and Roman Art

Credit line

Bequest of Mary Anna Palmer Draper, 1915