Ancient Roman Glass

Aiden Schaefer

Pedar Foss

Ancient Roman World

May 12, 2024

Schaefer, Aiden. Images. February 27, 2024.

Schaefer, Aiden. Images. February 27, 2024.

Schaefer, Aiden. Images. February 27, 2024.

The pieces of blown glass that are displayed above were found in Licenza, Italy. In the first image, we can see that there is some type of corrosion on the glass giving the piece the blue type color. In the research I’ve come across most glass was made for products like household items. With this being the case the first items seem to have been a part of some type of jewelry that was worn back then. The second image has a curving edge which would symbolize it being a part of a cup or bottle. The third image has come across as a piece of a window since it is clear rather than the other two similar artifacts that are shown above.

When the Romans found out about the manufacturing of blown glass, they began to create blown glass around the early 1st century BCE. The earliest vessels were core-formed, where glass in a molten state was wound around a clay core attached to a metal rod (Root 1982). The making of glass became a process to blow during the first half of the 1st century B.C. In Syria, this led to such a rapid development of the industry that by the middle of the 1st century A.D. Glass was being made throughout the empire (Harden 1969). Glassblowing was executed by a technique wherein a furnace’s heat is used to soften glass, mold it into forms, and then blow air through a tube onto the finished piece of glass. Once the Romans figured out the technique of glass blowing that was their main way of producing glass. The three images above are examples of what they have made with this technique.

In the first part of the first century A.D., the Roman glass industry emerged from near unawareness and developed over a few generations (Trentinella 2019). Early on, the Romans relied mostly on imports of finished glass objects from areas such as Egypt and Syria. Emperor Augustus was the one who ruled at this time and he believed that he didn’t have the craftsmen to do the job of glassmaking so he brought over Syrian and Judaean craftsmen as slaves to work on the production of glass since they were experienced (Fleming 1997 p.28). Since the glass was a luxury material, more and more people wanted to acquire it. The Romans practiced the free-blowing technique once they had mastered it and it marked a significant advancement in the industry. This developed sometime in the late 1st century B.C. and this being the case with this production style glass is easier to have as a household object. The main concept behind glassblowing was the recycling of shattered glassware, which began with markets and businesses repurposing glass fragments for new applications like mosaic work and ornamentation. For example, with glassblowing, the glass product became lighter so it would be easier to use as glass storage containers, drink from glass vessels, and look through crude glass window panes (Brill 1963 p.120). Also this new technique glass-making workshops became areas for creativity, attracting multiple people from all areas of the empire which led to cultural exchanges. 

The high production of glass led to the Romans reduce their dependence on very expensive imports by creating a thriving industry that generated wealth and employment. In 62 and 30 B.C., respectively, Rome proclaimed its dominance over the two major glass-making, which were Egypt and Syro-Palestine (Root 1982). The whole thing about the glass being a luxury item is thrown out the window because once the Romans started making mass production it became an item that was used in everyday life by anyone. Now the way it generated wealth was by the Romans exporting their items to distant lands, like Britain, North Africa, and the Middle East, showing signs of global trade and cultural exchange. Even Romans did this in the 1st century, the legacy of their work has been passed down through generations. The Romans’ inventiveness, creativity, and spirit of industry were shown by their contribution to the widespread marketing of glass production.  Through their proficiency in glassmaking, the Romans turned glass from a luxury good into an essential commodity that was used in every part of everyday life. 

Works Cited

Brill, Robert H. 1963. “ANCIENT GLASS.” Scientific American 209 (5): 120–31. https://www.jstor.org/stable/24935940. 

Cummings, Keith. 2002. A History of Glassforming. University of Pennsylvania Press.

Fleming, Stuart J. (Stuart James), and Internet Archive. 1997. Roman Glass : Reflections of Everyday Life. Internet Archive. Philadelphia : University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology. https://archive.org/details/romanglassreflec0000flem. 

Harden, Donald B. Ancient glass. Dublin: Royal Archaeological Institute, 1969.

Root, Margaret Cool. Wondrous glass. Accessed May 12, 2024. https://exhibitions.kelsey.lsa.umich.edu/galleries/Exhibits/WondrousGlass/RomanGlass-Making.html 

Trentinella, Rosemarie. 2019. “Roman Glass.” Metmuseum.org. 2019. https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/rgls/hd_rgls.htm.