Beaker or Cup (?)

Imperial (Roman)-Late Antique
2nd century - 3rd century

2 13/16 x 3 x 1/8 in. (7.1 x 7.6 x 0.3 cm)

This object has the following keywords:

• beakers - Refers to many varieties of relatively large drinking vessels without handles, cylindrical or conical in shape, with a flat base in the form of an open cup or goblet. Specifically, in archaeology refers to the tall wide-mouthed vessels produced by the Bell Beaker culture and found in certain early Bronze Age graves.
• blown glass - Glassware shaped by blowing air through a blowpipe into a glob of molten glass.
• cups - Open bowl-shaped vessels, used chiefly for drinking, often having one handle, but sometimes two handles or none, generally on a low foot-ring; also includes similar bowl-shaped vessels, generally without handles, resting on a stem and supported by a spreading foot. Occasionally made with a lid.
• glass - An amorphous, inorganic substance made by fusing silica (silicon dioxide) with a basic oxide; generally transparent but often translucent or opaque. Its characteristic properties are its hardness and rigidity at ordinary temperatures, its capacity for plastic working at elevated temperatures, and its resistance to weathering and to most chemicals except hydrofluoric acid. Used for both utilitarian and decorative purposes, it can be formed into various shapes, colored or decorated. Glass originated as a glaze in Mesopotamia in about 3500 BCE and the first objects made wholly of glass date to about 2500 BCE.
• Roman - Refers broadly to the period, styles, and culture of the state centered on the city of Rome from the period from the founding of the city ca. 700 BCE through the events leading to the founding of the republic in 509 BCE, the establishment of the empire in 27 BCE, and the final eclipse of the Empire of the West in the 5th century CE. Ancient Rome became a powerful force and supplanted Greek and Etruscan influence on the Apennine peninsula. Its rule and influence gradually encompassed a wide area in Europe, northern Africa, the Middle East, and Asia Minor. Its influence was wide in scope, including sculpture, painting, architecture, engineering, language, the road system, law, and many other areas of culture. Roman art and architecture is characterized by early derivations from Greek art and architecture, but it gradually developed into a style of its own, absorbing characteristics of styles from the far flung regions under its control.

This object is a member of the following portfolios: