Ancient Roman Turquoise Glass Cup

“Pliny relates that the art of glass-making [.] was actually discovered under the reign of Tiberius, and that the shop and tools of the artist were destroyed, lest, by the establishment of this invention, gold and silver should lose their value.”
Suetonius Tranquillus, Life of Tiberius

This elegant piece of glassware was hand blown, with a gently flared lip and cone-shaped foot. Its maker, evidently an artisan of particular skill and patience, has achieved a beautiful semi-translucent turquoise hue across the cup, a fine example of the heights achieved in the glassmaking of the Roman Empire – a period of dynamic artistic development, ushered in by the advent of glass-blowing technology in the 1st Century A.D., which saw the emergence of a diverse range of styles and forms. Thanks to the quality of the pieces produced in the Roman workshops, these became one of the Empire’s most valued exports, with glasses such as this one traded far beyond the Mediterranean world, into Persia and India, and similar examples have even been discovered as far afield as Eastern China, unearthed in Han Dynasty burials from Guangzhou and Nanjing.

This piece comes from the collection of textile magnate Louis-Gabriel Bellon, who assembled one of the most important private collections of antiquities in nineteenth century France. Himself an archaeologist, trained by Auguste Terninck in 1874, he conducted numerous excavations, firstly in Saint-Nicolas-lez-Arras and later in Rouen, expanding his collection of antique glasses, vases, and bronzes. After a triumphant exhibition of terracotta figurines from Tanagra at the Paris World Fair in 1878, Bellon began showcasing his collection to the French public. In 1884, he exhibited in Rouen, at the Palace of the Consuls, where his collection was celebrated as the most impressive component of the show. As well as a collector and industrialist, Louis-Gabriel Bellon was a painter, and a close friend of the important proto-Impressionist artist, Camille Corot. After his death, Bellon’s son Paul (1844-1928) continued to expand his collection and transformed the family home in Saint-Nicolas into a private museum worthy of his father’s taste and vision.

Measures : Diameter: 9.2 cm
Height: 6.2 cm.

Provenance:
Collection of Louis-Gabriel Bellon (1819-1899), Saint-Nicolas-lez-Arras and Rouen
Thence by descent.