The production of this catalogue has been a complex and lengthy endeavor, and I want to express my gratitude to many individuals who made it possible. First and foremost, I extend my heartfelt thanks to the director of the J. Paul Getty Museum, Timothy Potts, and the former senior curator of antiquities, Jeffrey Spier. Their invitation to study the museum’s glass collection during my 2016 visit to the Getty Villa was the inception of this project.
In 2019 I received a Getty Villa Scholar stipend, which allowed me to study a significant portion of the Museum’s collection for three months. This period of research was greatly enriched by the guidance and support of Mary Louise Hart, former associate curator of antiquities. Despite the challenges posed by a three-year timeframe and a global pandemic, I was able to complete writing the book. A subsequent two-month visit to the Villa at the end of 2022 enabled me to study the remaining objects and finalize the bibliographic research. During this visit, curatorial assistant Nicole Budrovich was instrumental in ensuring the smooth and timely completion of the project. I also owe a special thanks to Roko Rumora, then a graduate intern at the Villa, for his assistance in accessing and handling the objects.
I am grateful to the curatorial team at the Villa, especially Claire Lyons for sharing her expertise on the Punic glass objects in the collection, and Kenneth Lapatin and Jens Daehner for their insightful discussions on the nature of several objects.
I want to recognize the achievements of the team at the Villa Imaging Studios: Tahnee Louise Cracchiola, Rebecca Truszkowski, Niki Nakagawa, Manuel Perez, Benjamin Goddard, and Joanna Hernandez. Their spectacular images of the glass objects reveal details and features almost imperceptible to the naked eye. Additional thanks are due to Getty Digital Imaging photographers Rebecca Vera-Martinez and Taylor Branham and imaging specialists Robert Dennis and Gary Hughes for their post-production work.
I also extend my appreciation to Getty Conservation Institute associate scientist Monica Ganio and former graduate intern Elena Cofini, whose analyses and chemical identifications were crucial in distinguishing between authentic and ambiguous glass objects and verifying the specific nature of certain pieces and pastiches.
Furthermore, my thanks extend to the Villa conservators Jessica Arista and Marie Svoboda, for assisting me and the Imaging Studios team; preparators Marcus Adams, Dan Manns, and Cesar Santander; mountmakers Richard Hards and Elizabeth Soriano, who deserve special mention for their essential contributions in accessing glass objects on display and in storage; and registrars Jennifer Adam and Janet Chen for coordinating art moves.
Finally, I want to thank the anonymous reviewers for their constructive comments, which have significantly improved the quality of this catalogue. I also want to express my appreciation for the Getty Publications team, especially Ruth Evans Lane, the editor of this publication; Greg Albers, digital publications manager at the Getty and product manager for Quire; and Erin Cecele Dunigan, Quire community manager and the digital project lead on this book, for their support in bringing this work to fruition. Thanks are also due to rights coordinator Danielle Brink; cover designer Dani Grossman; former graduate intern Kate Justement; production coordinator Molly McGeehan; digital production assistant Jenny Park; and freelance copy editor Kerri Cox Sullivan.