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471. Fragment of a Mosaic Inlay with Floral Theme

Accession Number 76.AF.70.1
Dimensions L. 5, W. 2.6, Th. 0.6 cm; Wt. 10.40 g
Date First century BCE–first century CE
Production Area Egypt or Italy
Material Opaque red, white, and yellow; translucent grayish-green and turquoise glass
Modeling Technique and Decoration Fusion
View in Collection

Condition

Fragment, broken all around.

Description

Parts of three flowers appear on an olive-green background: (1) large part of a multipetaled flower with a central part consisting of a red rod set in white and grayish-green layers, surrounded by elongated turquoise petals outlined in grayish-green with a wide central nerve of the same glass; (2) quatrefoil flower with yellow central part and four white petals with red endings; (3) flower, probably a bud, with red petals and white and yellow striped interior.

On the back side, the motifs are partly visible, surrounded by variegated areas.

Comments and Comparanda

For the historical and technological evolution of glass inlays in Pharaonic Egypt and the Roman Empire, see comments on cats. 449 and 460.

Provenance

By 1976, Bruce McNall, donated to the J. Paul Getty Museum, 1976

Bibliography

Unpublished

Exhibitions

None