Glass beaker with snake-thread decoration

Unknown

4th century CE · Glass · Greek and Roman Art

Colorless with green tinge; trails in same color. Outsplayed, uneven, knocked-off rim; vertical side to body, then tapering to form hollow stem; low foot, with rounded, tubular edge, made by folding; pushed-in bottom with domed kick at center and pontil mark. On body, side divided into four vertical panels, each containing a snake-thread trail (three of nine loops, one of eight) with a trailing-off tail below, all tooled flat with cross-hatch pattern; between panels, a slender vertical trail applied to lower body, drawn up, tooled to form horizontal ribs, then folded down over ribs as a plain trail. Intact; some pinprick bubbles; dulling, creamy weathering, and iridescence on exterior, soil encrustation and thicker black and brown weathering on interior. After the beaker had been blown, decoration in the form of snakes was added with molten threads of glass. Many beakers of this type have been found in northern France.

Artist

Unknown

Date

4th century CE

Medium

Glass

Culture

Roman, Gallia Belgica

Department

Greek and Roman Art

Credit line

Gift of J. Pierpont Morgan, 1917