The floral design of this fragment was achieved by skillfully bundling long rods of colored glass and fusing them with heat. The technique is known as millefiori, or “thousand flowers,” because of the patterning that resulted from artists cutting the glass across its width. In ancient Rome, the millefiori technique was used to create such objects as bowls, vases, and beads.
Provenance
- Collection of Mildred Barnes Bliss, Washington, DC; gifted by Blisses to Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, Washington, DC, 1957.
More Exhibit Items
Roman, 1st century; faience; 14.5 × 4.4 cm (5 11/16 × 1 3/4 in.). BZ.1936.64
Roman, uncertain date; cameo glass; 5 × 6.5 cm (1 15/16 × 2 9/16 in.). BZ.1946.9
Roman, uncertain date; glass; 5.4 × 5.2 cm (2 1/8 × 2 1/16 in.). BZ.1957.6
Late Hellenistic or Roman, 1st century BCE; silver; 10 × 16.5 cm (3 15/16 × 6 1/2 in.). BZ.1940.3
Early Byzantine, late 5th–6th century; silver; 25.1 × 25.1 cm (9 7/8 × 9 7/8 in.). BZ.1949.7