Romano-Egyptian Millefiori Glass Pendant

Romano-Egyptian Millefiori Glass Pendant

Name: Romano-Egyptian Millefiori Glass Pendant - St James Ancient Art
Brand: Egyptian
SKU: RGS-102
Price: 250.00 GBP
Availability: InStock

£ 250.00

A fine Romano-Egyptian fragment of millefiori glass, encased in a modern, silver pendant frame. The glass fragment is triangular in shape and features a dark blue base colour, which is almost opaque. Bright white flowers are interspersed among swirls of red and yellow. To the reverse, the red and yellow swirls take on a more floral shape, appearing as red petals, outlined in yellow, with a white and blue centre. Some of the floral arrangements have blurred and bled into each other and the background, creating a beautiful sense of flowing movement throughout the piece. The entire glass fragment is mounted in a modern silver frame with an attachment loop at the top.

Please note that the chain is for reference only. Chains available upon enquiry.

Date: Circa 1st century BC - 1st century AD
Provenance: Gallery Mikazuki prior 1984, property of a London gentleman.
Condition: Very fine fragment with weathering and signs of wear as consistent with age. Silver pendant frame is modern.

SKU: RGS-102 Categories: Egyptian, New Items, Roman Empire Tags: Floral, Foliage, Fragment

Description
Additional information

Millefiori, is a type of mosaic glass, characterised by its floral patterns. The name itself means ‘a thousand flowers’ in Italian. The technique involved arranging bundles of thin glass rods, of various colours, fusing them together and then drawing them out. They were then cut into cross-sectional fragments and slices to be used as inlays or for larger pieces. Millefiori bowls, for example, would involve large amounts of the sectioned fragments to be applied to an already-blown, hot bowl. The bowl would be heated again, allowing the fragments to fuse seamlessly together and creating a beautiful floral pattern. The millefiori technique was created by Egyptian craftsmen in the 2nd century BC, during the Hellenistic period and used well into the Roman period.