Dish

Arts of the Ancient Mediterranean and Byzantium

Mid 2nd-early 1st century BCE

Hellenistic or early Roman; eastern Mediterranean

This luminous bowl was made using the laborious and time-consuming composition-cast mosaic glass technique. The particular combination of colors and patterns suggests that this lovely dish was created in the Eastern Mediterranean, a region that grew wealthy from trade with Asian cultures. The town homes and country houses of the local elite boasted beautifully frescoed walls, colorful mosaic floors, and lush, private gardens embellished with decorative sculptures for the sumptuous alfresco banquets that were a favorite evening pastime. This delicate mosaic glass dish was likely made to adorn a splendidly set dinner table alongside other exquisitely wrought platters, bowls, and goblets.

Status: Currently Off View
Department: Arts of the Ancient Mediterranean and Byzantium

Culture: Ancient Greek
Title: Dish
Place: Eastern Mediterranean Region (Object made in)
Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.: Made 150 BCE–50 BCE
Medium: Glass, mosaic
Dimensions: 3.2 × 13.3 cm (1 1/4 × 5 1/4 in.); Diam.: 13.3 cm (5 1/4 in.)
Credit Line: Katherine K. Adler Memorial Fund
Reference Number: 2004.722
IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world. Learn more.: https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/184325/manifest.json

Christie’s, London, The Collection of Egyptian, Greek and Roman Antiquities, Cameos and Intaglios Formed by the Late Henry Oppenheimer, sale cat. (Christie’s, London, July 22–23, 1936), pp. 38–39 (ill.), lot 114.
Andrew Oliver, Jr., “Millefiori Glass in Classical Antiquity,” Journal of Glass Studies 10 (1968), p. 65, no. 6.
Christie’s, London, Ancient Egyptian Glass and Faience, pt. 3, sale cat. (Christie’s, London, Dec. 8, 1993), pp. 22–23 (ill.), lot 27.
Art Institute of Chicago, “Acquisitions: July 1, 2004–June 30, 2005,” Art Institute of Chicago Annual Report 2004–2005 (Art Institute of Chicago, 2005), pp. 20 (ill.), 30.
Corning Museum of Glass, “Recent Important Acquisitions,” Journal of Glass Studies 47 (2005), p. 215, cat. 1 (ill.).
Karen Manchester, “Mosaic Glass Dish,” in “Notable Acquisitions at the Art Institute of Chicago,” special issue, Art Institute of Chicago Museum Studies 32, 1 (2006), pp. 46–47 (ill.), 95.
Karen Manchester, Recasting the Past: Collecting and Presenting Antiquities at the Art Institute of Chicago (Art Institute of Chicago/Yale University Press, 2012), pp. 66-67 (cat. 12), fig. 12.1, 111.
Sidney Goldstein, “Cat. 71 Dish: Curatorial Entry,” in Roman Art at the Art Institute of Chicago (Art Institute of Chicago, 2016).
Rachel C. Sabino, with contributions by Sidney Goldstein, “Cat. 71 Dish: Technical Report,” in Roman Art at the Art Institute of Chicago (Art Institute of Chicago, 2016).

Art Institute of Chicago, Ancient Art Galleries, Gallery August 7, 2006-February 6, 2012.
Art Institute of Chicago, Of Gods and Glamour: The Mary and Michael Jaharis Galleries of Greek, Roman, and Byzantine Art, November 11, 2012 - March 21, 2023.

Henry Oppenheimer (died 1932), London; sold, Christie’s London, July 22-23, 1936, lot 114, to Maurice Nahman, Cairo. Achille Groppi (died 1949), Cairo; bequeathed to his sister, Georgette Bianchi-Groppi, Lugano; by descent to her sons, Giacomo Bianchi, Achille Andrea Mario Bianchi, and Marco Eugenio Mario Bianchi, Lugano; sold, Christie’s, London, December 8, 1993, lot 27 [under the pseudonym Per-Neb Collection]. With Phoenix Ancient Art, by 2004; sold to The Art Institute of Chicago, 2004.

Cat. 71 Dish, mid-2nd/early 1st century B.C.

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Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

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Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

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IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

Learn more.