The Roman House at Hopkins | Everyday Dining: Glass Vessels

Goblet

By Nicole Berlin

Accession Number: JHAM HT 1356
Measurements: Width: 6.3cm, Height: 10.6cm
Material: Glass
Culture/Date: Roman, 4th-6th c. CE
Provenance: Nazareth, Israel

This translucent pale yellow-green goblet has a hemispherical bowl with an everted rim and sits on a short, concave stem. The two parts of the vessel were produced separately then joined. Goblets did not become common around the Mediterranean until the 4th century CE and the shape likely originated in the Eastern provinces. Some of the earliest examples of goblets have been found in Corinth from a deposit dated to around 300 CE. Finds in the Levant suggest that this shape was used there through the Islamic period.

Comparanda

Isings form 111. Cf. Corning Museum 52.1.7 and Israel Museum 73.46.139.