The surface of these bowls shows that the term "mosaic glass" is an appropriate one for designating the type of glass they are made of. The earliest examples of objects made with this technique date to the middle of the second millennium BC. Mosaic glass is obtained by making a bundle of different-colored glass canes and slicing it widthwise into little rounds. These are set one beside the other in a mould that is then placed in a kiln. This glass-moulding technique continued to be used until the first century of our era but was eventually supplanted by glass-blowing. Glass receptacles were not used as everyday objects until that time.
Provenance: Ḥimṣ, Aleppo, unknown.
Dimensions (cm.): 10 x 4.5, 10 x 3.7, 10 x 4.5.
Era: circa 100 CE.
Text: Fortin (p. 203).
Photo credit: Jacques Lessard.
Collection of the National Museum of Damascus.
Michel Fortin, Syria, Land of Civilization. Les Éditions de l'Homme, Musée de la Civilisation de Québec 1999.
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