Roman Ribbed Glass Bowl without Handles

Product Description

This thick-walled bowl is outstanding both for its excellent state of preservation and for its perfect shape. It was molded and pressed in light green glass, while the finish was obtained by polishing and by grinding.

This shallow vessel, almost hemispherical in shape, is decorated with a frieze of vertical ribs, smaller than usual: their presence recalls the metallic origin of this drinking vessel, inspired by the gadroon vases made of precious metal. The tall, smooth and rounded rim is decorated in its inner part by two thick, engraved lines. The flat base provides the bowl with good balance.

The first examples of ribbed bowls date back to the second quarter of the 1st century B.C.; from the middle of that century, the shape suffered a minor variation, with the adoption of a flatter or slightly convex bottom, which made the vessel more stable. Their production increased considerably from the late Hellenistic period on and continued during the 1st century of the Empire with a very elaborate typology and various dimensions. The most common colors were first orange-brown, cobalt blue and aubergine; these were gradually replaced by light blue, greenish and light green around the mid-1st century A.D., when the taste for bright colors became old-fashioned.

These bowls were largely used as tableware across the Mediterranean world, from Italy to the more western and northern colonies of the Empire, from the Aegean to the Levant.

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