3-045-272 - Heritage Art/Heritage Images

Bowl, 300-100 BC. Additional Info: Wealthy Romans had a taste for luxury tableware, especially vessels made from semi-precious stones, gold, and silver. Vessels carved from various forms of chalcedony, especially agate, were very popular. Artisans carved large pieces of the stone into perfume bottles, cups, and bowls of various forms. The marbled brown and white coloring of this bowl, the translucent quality of its thin walls, and the subtle grooved decoration of the exterior are all typical features of these vessels, which were widely copied by Roman glassmakers. This bowl was part of a group of precious stone vessels discovered near Qift (formerly Koptos) in southern Egypt. India was one of the sources for agate in antiquity, and Qift lay on the trade route that connected the Arabian Sea and the Mediterranean.