A ROMAN ROMAN Blue GLASS Lady Sphinx CIRCA 2ND-3RD CENTURY A.D. The head of a sphinx , forms the body of this blue glass vase. Vessels in the shape of human heads had a long history, first in Greek & then in Roman art. When glass became a popular medium, glass head vases soon followed. Deities & mythological beings were the most popular subjects, along with grotesque faces, genre, & ethnic types. The strongly classicizing features of the face, as well as the form of the handle, indicate that this flask was made in the 300s or 400s A.D. Both this vessel’s size & its fine state of preservation are unusual. Few large horse head vessels have survived from antiquity. The date also makes this head vase unusual; after the first century A.D., most mold-blown vessels tended to have much simpler forms. Ancient Roman Feather Mosaic Green Glass Ram Head Circa 2nd-3rd Perfume Vase
