I've visited the glass collection at the V&A before. Last year, clear lurid shapes attracted me to this material. Last week I was in London for one day and took a second look. As my tastes change, I find myself attracted to textures, forms and techniques that have previously gone unnoticed. I imagine I will return to this collection many times to discover something new to draw me in.
This beautiful collection of bowls, beakers, dishes, unguent bottles, oil flasks and cinerary urns are 1st-4th century Roman glass, with a few exceptions from the 8th-10th century and 1250-1400. These pieces, some with applied thread decorations, some rolled in coloured glass chips, and some gilded or enamelled, originate from Cyprus, Syria, Egypt, Italy, Palestine, Phoencia, Rhondes, Macedonia and Eastern Mediterranean.
It is easy to hastily pass them by as they are such petite objects. Once spotted, I got in close to capture the surface texture that I find so compelling. Initially the colour and metallics are spectacular. With further observation they are particularly captivating for their early dates of fabrication. The craftspeople's technology and understanding of the material, at this time, is remarkable: magical, otherwordly, unreal.
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