If we visit Rome today, or Constantinople, so many of their ancient glories have been overtaken by the ravages of time. When those classical cities were still splendid,  More »

If we visit Rome today, or Constantinople, so many of their ancient glories have been overtaken by the ravages of time. When those classical cities were still splendid, however, this vase was new and no less delicate than it is today. How fortunate we are that time has only enhanced its pale beauty. - (G.0045)   « Less

Time has added a sheen like pale moonlight to this lovely vessel, but it could hardly improve upon the elegance of its design. Spectacular evidence that a true classic never  More »

Time has added a sheen like pale moonlight to this lovely vessel, but it could hardly improve upon the elegance of its design. Spectacular evidence that a true classic never grows old, just more beautiful. - (G.0190)   « Less

Could the artist who first created this spectacular vessel when Constantinople was in its Golden Age have known that it would still radiate a totally contemporary appeal  More »

Could the artist who first created this spectacular vessel when Constantinople was in its Golden Age have known that it would still radiate a totally contemporary appeal centuries later? The clean, sculptural purity of its lines has given it a timeless energy that seems only to get better as time goes on. We are awestruck by its beauty today and wonder if it will get even lovelier in the future. - (G.0233)   « Less

The passage of time has aided the hand of the artist to create a radiant masterpiece. Though surely its graceful lines and elegant proportions made it attractive to the age  More »

The passage of time has aided the hand of the artist to create a radiant masterpiece. Though surely its graceful lines and elegant proportions made it attractive to the age that crafted it, the centuries have added a moonlit iridescence and an unseen, but deeply-felt glow of rarity, that are integral parts of its beauty. In our own age-- long after it was first made--it seems perfect at last. - (G.0234)   « Less

This bronze votive plaque bears a representation of the Greek goddess Tyche (known to the Romans as Fortuna). She faces the viewer, prepared to receive obeisance and the  More »

This bronze votive plaque bears a representation of the Greek goddess Tyche (known to the Romans as Fortuna). She faces the viewer, prepared to receive obeisance and the veneration owed her. Atop her head, she wears the classical turreted crown associated with the goddess Tyche, from which hangs a veil. Her hair is parted at the middle and swept back, with long, regal plaits descending upon her shoulders at each side. Her garments assume a V-shape at her neckline. Her countenance is somewhat simple in its celestial nobility. Her face is round and her eyes deeply set. The stylization of the plaque bears elements of Roman provincial origin, perhaps from Asia Minor.Votive items such as these, minute representations of deities, were often placed in personal shrines and kept by individuals or households for devotional purposes. Such an object might have adorned the home of a Roman family as an expression of the Roman virtue of piety, to please and satisfy all of the gods and thereby bring peace and prosperity to the family and all the Roman people. The goddess, Tyche is a very apropos recipient of such piety, being the goddess that dispensed fortune. Often assimilated with other Greco-Roman deities, such as Isis, this goddess was indicative of the syncretism that characterized the religious landscape of the imperial period. Each city was believed to have its own Tyche, her turreted crown being evocative of her role as protectress of cities.   « Less

Whose hands were the last to hold this extraordinary vessel in the twilight of the classical age? As that unknown person shook out its perfumed contents, could they have  More »

Whose hands were the last to hold this extraordinary vessel in the twilight of the classical age? As that unknown person shook out its perfumed contents, could they have imagined the vastly changed world in which it now finds itself? In the presence of this lovely object we feel an immense bond with that ancient life, something in common much stronger than mere glass. In the world of terracotta vessels, marble sculpture, and bronze adornment that was the Classical world, no material was prized so much as glass. The material itself was rare, and the process of its forging so laborious, that few artisans took the time necessary to develop the skill. It would have required years of experience for a glass-maker to yield a piece of this quality. This piece demonstrates not only an intimate understanding of the glassmaker’s craft but an equally delicate knowledge of the human form. Feel how perfectly the orb-shaped base fits into your hand. Notice how easily and comfortably your finger curves around the supple spout. When we notice how perfectly suited this vessel is for the human touch, it reminds us that this piece of art was created not only for the sake of beauty, but for utility. Imagine the wonderful existence of the Roman aristocrat who possessed this piece. Every cup he drained, every chair he sat upon, every door-handle he turned was crafted with infinite elegance and complete originality. To turn this piece over in our hands is to transport ourselves into a dimension in which every aspect of the ordinary is laced with incomparable beauty, and meticulous grace. While we enshrine magnificent pieces such as this bit of glass, there was once a time where everything in one’s world was of its quality. To possess it is to delicately hold, for the last time, a shred of a world where opulence, creativity, and the pursuit of the rare and exceptional were once as plentiful as glass is in the modern world. - (GF.0051)   « Less

Origin: Mediteranean Circa: 100 AD to 300 AD Dimensions: 1.5" (3.8cm) high Collection: Classical Style: Roman

Origin: Mediteranean Circa: 100 AD to 300 AD Dimensions: 1.5" (3.8cm) high Collection: Classical Style: Roman   « Less

The fall of the Roman Empire plunged into darkness, but in the east many of the classical traditions continued, as this charming vase in the best glass working mode shows.  More »

The fall of the Roman Empire plunged into darkness, but in the east many of the classical traditions continued, as this charming vase in the best glass working mode shows. Who might have made it? Who held it? And what did it contain? These are secrets that are not immediately revealed, yet in the presence of this delightful vessel we find it easy to imagine the answers. - (GF.0141)   « Less

Glass has been prized by mankind for centuries. The qualities that delighted the ancients, the clarity, transparency, brilliance and malleability of glass, are the same ones  More »

Glass has been prized by mankind for centuries. The qualities that delighted the ancients, the clarity, transparency, brilliance and malleability of glass, are the same ones that appeal to modern sensibilities. Early writers described glass in terms of wonderment: "congealed of air, condensed of sunbeams, molded from the light of the open plain, or peeled from a white pearl." The passage of centuries serves to make glass even lovelier than when it was new, for time graces its surface with a jewel-like iridescence. We today cannot help but marvel that something so delicately lovely has survived since the golden height of Byzantium. As we take pleasure in its beauty, we transcend the ages, and share our emotions with the citizens of a vanished world. - (GF.0213)   « Less

The transition from Late Roman/Early Christian art to Byzantine art is a subtle one. The artistry of blown glass, developed and mastered during the Roman Empire in the first  More »

The transition from Late Roman/Early Christian art to Byzantine art is a subtle one. The artistry of blown glass, developed and mastered during the Roman Empire in the first century B.C., continues to have stylistic influences reminiscent of the early masters. This stunning Byzantine lamp hearkens back to its roots of Imperial Roman glass. A tall slender body slowly opens to a subtle curving rim, delicate in shape and proportion. To gaze upon this soft green vessel, its translucent beauty heightened through the passage of time, is to imagine the soft ancient flame that once flickered from within its elegant body--a flame whose glow reaches beyond time and space, touching each of us with its warm spirited glow. - (GF.0327)   « Less