As the Roman Empire progressed and expanded, glass production evolved dramatically, becoming one of the Empire’s leading commercial industries. The vitriarii, glassmakers, had been introduced to the glassblowing method which was used to expand their repertoire of shapes and designs significantly. As a consequence, Roman glass was then used as a great trading commodity across the whole of the known world. Glassblowing allowed different shapes and designs to be forged, the walls were able to become thinner creating a more translucent appearance. Different coloured glass was created by adding different metals during the process. The addition of copper created a blue and green colouring, much like this jug, which has also been produced with the typical thinner walls customary of glass blown vessels, allowing for a beautiful transparency.
Since their conception, glass vessels were adorned with a variety of applied embellishments via ‘trailing’. A thread of molten glass would have been draped over the vessel and adjusted with pincers to cool in the right shape. Thicker trails were used for handles, rims, and raised feet, and thinner trails were used to imbue decorative designs to the body, often in contrasting colours and unique patterns. The technique is still used today in much the same way upon modern glass.
To learn more about Roman glass, visit our relevant post: How It Was Made: Roman Glass
