Glass bowl fragments with cut decoration

Unknown

ca. 330–380 CE · Glass · Greek and Roman Art

Translucent green. Hemispherical bowl with plain, ground rim; convex curving side; round bottom. Below rim, a single horizontal wheel-cut groove; around body, a figural frieze. It comprises three figures wearing short-sleeved tunics, facing front with their heads turned in profile to left and their arms raised, standing above a structure marked with five courses of masonry in which two opening are visible (probably three existed); to the right of the structure, the lower part of a column and the legs and lower body of a robed figure; to the left, three other standing figures, one apparently wearing leggings, flanking a rock from which flows a stream of water. On the bottom, is a circular medallion, in which is depicted a man, standing facing left, wearing a long robe and with a long staff under his outstretched right arm. Broken and incomplete, repaired from six joining fragments (including 1992.61); some pinprick bubbles; patches of severe pitting and weathering, with dulling and iridescence. The bowl is decorated with Christian scenes that represent well-known stories from the Old Testament. The figure in the medallion at the bottom is either Moses or Aaron; his staff is the rod that turned into a snake. On the body are two separate scenes: one is of the Three Youths in the Furnace; the other shows Moses and the Miracle of the Rock in Horeb.

Artist

Unknown

Date

ca. 330–380 CE

Medium

Glass

Culture

Roman

Department

Greek and Roman Art

Credit line

Gift of J. Pierpont Morgan, 1917