Replicating an ancient form of miniature glass vessel: An art history experiment

During the 3rd and 4th Centuries CE, a peculiar and little understood class of small glass objects was created in the Eastern Mediterranean world, then part of the Roman Empire in its late phase. These were miniature glass vessels in the form of pitchers, amphorae and jars. They have been found all over the boundaries of the late Roman world, as far west as Spain. But their origins and purpose remain something of a mystery. Were they created for Pagan or Christian use? Did they contain sacred oils, water from a Christian baptistry or a Pagan sacred spring? Their find spots, distribution and style offer no clear answers, as yet. Here are images of few such objects:

Image Credit: The Corning Museum of Glass, Corning, New York

Image Credit: The Corning Museum of Glass, Corning, New York

Image Credit: Clio Ancient Art and Antiquities

I’ve always found these objects fascinating. They were clearly made by glass bead makers on a rod or mandrel, not by glass blowers. Some show evidence of having been enhanced with blowing through a small blow pipe, while other are simply wound on the mandrel like a bead but with a hole on only one end. I determined to try and replicate these objects, while allowing for a small amount of creative license.

First, I decided to use the same type of glass used by ancient glass workers, whether bead makers or glass blowers: soda-lime glass. Most torch worker or lamp work glass artists today use borosilicate glass, a late 19th Century invention that is still the most common type of glass in use in every household or other context. The addition of boron, sometimes with other additives, imparts strength to the glass, making it less susceptible to thermal shock or mechanical damage. I wanted to stay as true to the original process as possible, hence the choice of soda lime glass.

Using a hot head torch and a small blowpipe coated in bead release, I made 3 attempts at creating vessels of similar size and form to some of those from the class of ancient miniatures described above. Here are images of the resulting works:

All of these objects involved use of the mandrel / blow pipe to varying degrees, though most of their mass was simply formed on the mandrel and a few small puffs of air were sufficient to expand their bases and make them capable of holding liquid contents. The first two images, a neatly formed shallow vessel of deep purple with a transparent blue rim and opaque yellow handles, seems to me not only the most aesthetically pleasing but also most faithful to the original ancient vessels.

Much of my glass works is inspired by the glass of the distant past and I’ll be pursuing more experiments and posting them here, including further, hopefully more refined attempts at imitating the ancient miniatures that were the subject of this post.