Roman glass mosaic bowl
€15,500
available
Object number
AR3433
| Object: |
Roman glass mosaic bowl
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| Material: |
Polychrome glass paste.
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| Period: |
Late 1st century BC to early 1st century AD. Early Roman Imperial period. |
| Description: |
The Roman bowl has the shape of an upside down bell. It rests on a base ring. The lip is pointing outwards. It was casted from multi-coloured glass paste, combined to form an abstract mosaic of "eyes" on blue and green background. Made in the Eastern Mediterranean, probably in the Roman province of Syria.
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| Dimensions: |
97mm to 98mm diameter. 45mm height.
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| Condition: |
Professionally restored from fragments, especially the foot repaired. The original substance is completely preserved. Very nice overall impression. On the bottom inscription in white "K2826J.". The bowl can stand on its own. A specially made acrylic glass stand comes with the item. The bowl can be clamped into it precisely with the foot and is then presented at a 45° angle.
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| Provenance: |
Acquired by us on the US art market in 2023. Previously in US-American family ownership and from the New York private collection of Jack and Jane Weprin. They began to be interested in ancient glass in the 1970ies and subsequently acquired several important private collections at auction. The glass presented here comes from the Christie's London auction on 5 March 1985 "Ancient Glass formerly the Kofler-Truninger Collection", lot 179 (estimated at 4,000 to 7,000 GBP, at the time corresponding to 7,800 EUR to 13,600 EUR). It was previously and since at least 1981 in the renowned Swiss collection of Ernst and Marthe Kofler-Truniger, to which the Christie's auction was dedicated. An origin from Syria has been passed down, corresponding to the Roman province of Syria. The Kofler-Truninger couple began collecting ancient glass in the 1950ies. They traveled to Egypt, Beirut, Paris, London and New York for their studies and acquisitions. The aesthetically pleasing and high-quality collection that arose from this included around 300 ancient Mediterranean glass vessels and 700 Egyptian glass inlays. The collection was presented to the public in three exhibitions, in Zurich in 1956 and 1964, and in Lucerne in 1983. The glass inserts were scientifically published in 1964 by Prof. H. W. Müller, and the glass vessels in 1981 by Beat Rütti. Objects from the Kofler-Truniger Collection are also in the renowned Museum of Fine Arts Boston, the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the J. Paul Getty Museum. |
| Publication: |
This vessel is illustrated and described in Beat Rütti, M. Kunz ed., 3000 Jahre Glaskunst von der Antike bis zum Jugendstil (Kunstmuseum Luzern, Luzern 1981), p. 15, fig. F7 and p. 64, no. 172.
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| References: |
Cf. Metropolitan Museum of Art, acc. no. 23.45. Cf. Hans Fischli, Willy Rotzler, Glas aus vier Jahrtausenden (Zürich, 1956), p. 4 top. |
| Authenticity: |
We unconditionally guarantee the authenticity of every artefact, all items are subject to our lifetime return policy on authenticity.
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