Glass, Jewelry, Pottery and Silverware in Ancient Rome

Roman glass, jewelry and other luxury wears reach a particular splendour during the Augustan age, at the beginning of the Empire. The period of peace achieved during the rule of Augustus and Augustus' own ability in putting himself forward as a docile and benevolent leader was welcomed by all, especially after the vicious infighting of the civil wars.

This naturally provided fertile ground in the artistic arena, which lent itself to be used for the political ends of an elite which saw itself as the inheritor and successor of Greek culture. This meant that in many ways these art works, including glass and jewelry also, were deprived of much of the expressive freedom one might expect and hope for. I think it is fair to say that in spite of this, these works of art remain admirable. This is possibly because to the average modern viewer the messages of political propaganda have lost direct meaning and all that remains is the sheer beauty of classical art and exquisite craftsmanship which counterpoint a period of tranquility and wellbeing.

The buyers of this fine art were the conservative political elite: This is the general environment of the markets for glass ware, pottery, cameos and jewelry. The quality achieved of these luxury wares was such that they continued to be an example of craftsmanship and beauty to be imitated throughout the empire's lifetime. Collections, particularly of silverware have been found throughout the empire. This demonstrates how attached their owners might be to their collections.

Glass

The Romans developed the art of glass making to an extremely high level of craftsmanship. Before that glasswork depended on an opaque translucent material known as "glass paste". During the Roman epoch the purity of glass was greatly improved and the inclusion of definite metal impurities allowed manipulation of its colour and translucency. This material was used to make wares of different shapes and sizes with relief sculpture in the classical style. This form of art was extended to the production of true art works in the form of glass tablets with sculptural relief of figures and mythological events much in the same vein of cameo work (which is done using shells).

Relief Pottery

As with cameo relief work on glass, Roman workshops applied sculptural relief work to Italic pottery (ie pottery of the style of central Italy). This provides a good example of the marriage of Greek influence with existing craftsmanship and reached its height during the Augustan age. The Greek naturalistic approach was applied to vase forms and colour which were strictly Italic in origin.

The classical pottery we are most used to is in the manner of the Red and Black painted figure pottery of the Greeks and Etruscans. The innovation produced by Roman workshops was a new hybrid where relief figures and motifs could be produced with a stamp and would then be applied to the vase before painting, varnishing and firing. The result achieved was similar to that produced in England by mass producers such as Wedgewood from the industrial revolution through to modernity.

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This page about Rome history was written by Giovanni Milani-Santarpia for www.mariamilani.com - Rome apartments