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Roman glass insert for a pendant

Price: on request
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Object number
AR1957
Object: Late Roman glass insert for a pendant

Material: Greenish opaque glass

Period: Late 4th to 5th century AD.
Late Roman period.
Sometimes an earlier date during Roman Imperial times is suggested for this type of glass jewellery.

Description:    Glass disc as an insert for a pendant. The piece is from one of the Eastern Mediterranean glass factories. This popular type of jewellery was typically made as a disc with attached hoop to string the piece as a pendant. The motif was stamped into each side of the glass disc. For this piece we are not able to identify the motif but it can still be faintly seen.

Dimensions: Approx. 17mm diameter.

Zustand: Worn but otherwise very well preserved.

Provenance: From the German collection of Professor H. Brosch (1923 to 2009), author of historical publications, scientific museum advisor, decorated by the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany. The collection was built between 1960 and 1975. It was inherited to U. Buechner, Germany, and then acquired by us in 2013.

The Professor Brosch collection of ancient Gems:
After the decline of the Roman Empire, ancient gems retained or regained recognition in medieval Europe. In addition to frequent reuse in church art, there were also profane uses. This is shown by the example of the ancient intaglio of Julia, daughter of Emperor Titus. It was reused in the 9th century by the Merovingians in the "Escrain de Charlemagne" and can be admired today in the French National Library.
The reception of ancient glyptic during the Italian Renaissance resulted in a great fashion to collect gems, which could be entertained by the European educated bourgeoisie during journeys through the Mediterranean in the spirit of enlightenment and education. Thus Goethe, inspired by his trip to Italy, which was immortalised in literature, also built up a collection of antiquities.
The collection of ancient intaglios by Professor Brosch is certainly a late classicist continuation of this tradition. The collection forms a systematic cross-section of the thematic diversity of ancient gems and has been worked on extensively with a scholarly approach. Professor Brosch had a great interest, not only in ancient history, but also in the more recent history of his home region. He was honoured with the Federal Cross of Merit for his achievements in the field of historical studies. It is with pride that we have fully documented this collection and provided it with literature references. We are now pleased to bring these miniature works of art from the ancient world back into circulation and to enrich a collection in the tradition of the Renaissance and Enlightenment in a worthy manner.
If you are interested in purchasing the collection in its entirety, please do not hesitate to contact us.

References: Vgl. Metropolitan Museum of Art, accession no. 74.51.4035.

Authenticity: We unconditionally guarantee the authenticity of every artefact, all items are subject to our lifetime return policy on authenticity.