Condition
Body fragment of a vessel, broken all around. The exterior is polished, probably in modern times. The interior is slightly dull and affected by weathering, particularly the opaque glass.
Description
The piece consists of polygonal tesserae fused together. Each tessera comprises a central red rod surrounded by eight yellow petals outlined in translucent purple. Each flower is set in a wide, translucent dark blue layer of glass.
Comments and Comparanda
For the production technique, see comments on cat. 86. On the trade of small fragments of mosaic glass in the nineteenth century and on the different techniques and classes of mosaic glass present in the Getty collection, see comments on cat. 95.
Provenance
Pierre Mavrogordato, Greek, 1870–1948 (Berlin, Germany); by 1974–1988, Erwin Oppenländer, 1901–1988 (Waiblingen, Germany), by inheritance to his son, Gert Oppenländer, 1988; 1988–2003, Gert Oppenländer (Waiblingen, Germany), sold to the J. Paul Getty Museum, 2003
Bibliography
Saldern von, Axel, Birgit Nolte, Peter La Baume, and Thea Elisabeth Haevernick. 1974. Gläser der Antike. Sammlung Erwin Oppenländer. Mainz: von Zabern., p. 123, no. 332; p. 121, plate no. 332.
Exhibitions
Gläser der Antike: Sammlung Erwin Oppenländer (Hamburg and Cologne, 1974–1975)