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498. Fragment of a Mosaic Inlay with Maritime Motif

Accession Number 76.AF.70.16
Dimensions L. 2.5, W. 1.9, Th. 0.5 cm; Wt. 3.87 g
Date First century BCE–first century CE
Production Area Egypt or Italy
Material Opaque red and yellow and translucent green glass
Modeling Technique and Decoration Fusion
View in Collection

Condition

Fragment; two of the original, rounded edges are preserved.

Description

Wavy lines of green and yellow glass converging toward the edge, which is not preserved. On one edge of this band, a tiny remnant of a red feature is preserved. The motifs are visible, partly distorted, on the back side of the plaque.

Comments and Comparanda

Possibly part of a maritime presentation, part of the body of a fish. Probably from the same object as cat. 497, although that piece is only 0.2 cm thick. For the historical and technological evolution of glass inlays in Pharaonic Egypt and the Roman Empire, see comments on cats. 449 and 460. For maritime motifs on incrustations, see comments on cat. 496.

Provenance

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

Bibliography

Unpublished

Exhibitions

None