ROMAN GLASS: Reflections on Cultural Change 11 September 1999 - 9 January 2000

  INTRODUCTION

ROMAN GLASS: Reflections on Cultural Change is a traveling exhibition organized by the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology that illustrates how the craft of glassmaking was influenced by historical events and changing social values in the Roman World.

(34K)
SQUAT AMBER JUG with a trefoil mouth, thick turquoise handle,
and turquoise-colored coils applied beneath the rim and as a base ring.  
4th century AD, possibly from Aleppo (Syria). 12.3 cm high.
Color combinations of turquoise on amber (as here) and dark blue on colorless
were particularly popular at that time.

Glass, a material developed in the eastern Mediterranean region, largely came to Rome with its makers, Syrian and Judaean craftsmen, many of whom were slaves.

Between the mid-first century BC and the early seventh century AD, Roman glassmaking was influenced not only by the changing values and tastes of the Roman world, but also by historical events. Many new techniques of glassmaking were introduced along the way. Each glass vessel, in its shape and decoration, is therefore a record of the times in which it was made.

  THE EXHIBITION

The exhibition breaks with the tradition of treating Roman glassware as an exceptional art form. Instead, it addresses how glass, in its mass production and mimicry of luxury items, held a relatively lowly position in the hierarchy of Roman material goods. As the glassmaking industry developed, glass -- like pottery -- came to be used in everyday life for all manner of domestic storage vessels and tableware, and for the small bottles that held the medicines, perfumes, and spices which were so much a part of the Roman affluent life.

The exhibition features over 200 glass vessels -- bowls, cups, jugs, unguent bottles -- dating from the 2nd century BC to the early 7th century AD.

The objects in this exhibition are drawn from the University of Pennsylvania Museum's large Hellenistic and Roman collections, and most have never been publicly displayed or published. They come from various sites throughout the Roman Empire, including the University of Pennsylvania's excavations at Beth Shean in Israel and Ayios Ermonyenis in Cyprus. Collectively, they illustrate a remarkable range of forms and decorative elements.

Following are some representative pieces from the exhibition, in their chronological order.

	RIBBED BOWL. (30K) Early 1st century AD. 3.9 x 12.0 x 12.0 cm.
	OIL FLASK. (55K) Late 1st-mid 2nd century AD. 10.1 cm high.
	HEXAGONAL BOTTLE. (44K) 2nd century AD. 16.5 x 7.8 x 8.8 cm.
	JUGLET. (38K) Thread decoration, 4th century AD. 11.6 x 5.6 x 5.6 cm.
	LONG-NECKED UNGUENTARIUM. (20K) 6th century AD. 25.7 cm high.

Also included in the exhibition are several related items in pottery and bronze, together with illustrated text panels and supplementary maps. These materials help explain how each vessel is a record of the technical and artistic impact of changing connections between cultures and crafts of the ancient world.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Additional information on this exhibition, including additional images of items on display, are available on the Website of the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology.

An exhibition catalogue and related articles on Roman glass are available in the McClung Museum Shop.

EXHIBITION-RELATED LECTURES

Both the McClung Museum and the East Tennessee Society, Archaeological Institute of America, are each presenting two lectures in conjunction with this exhibition. All four lectures, like the exhibition itself, are FREE and OPEN TO THE PUBLIC.

EXHIBITION CURATOR AND SPONSORS

• CURATOR: Dr. Stuart Fleming, University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology

• SPONSORS: Gemtron Corporation, Gary and Sue Kimsey, The Knoxville News-Sentinel, and WBIR-TV

• ADDITIONAL SUPPORT: The Aletha and Clayton Brodine Museum Fund

EXHIBITION ARCHIVE

The Website versions of other McClung Museum special exhibits are available at our Exhibition Archive.

  ADDITIONAL WEB RESOURCES

	Ancient Rome Index - World-Wide Web Virtual Library
	Glassmaking in Antiquity - by Susan Hampton  (UNC-Chapel Hill)
	Glossary of Glassmaking Terms - Corning Museum of Glass
	Looking Through Roman Glass - by David Whitehouse  (Archaeology Magazine)
	Reflections on the Roman World by Stuart Fleming  [Exhibition Curator]
	Resource for Glass - Corning Museum of Glass
	Roman Glass on Display at the Cantor Arts Center - Stanford University
	Roman Glasses - Focus Online Magazine/Middle East Technical University
	Wondrous Glass - World of Rome 50 BC-AD 650 - Kelsey Museum, University of Michigan

McClung Homepage		Exhibition Archive Page