Classics

The concept of skeuomorphism, meaning the imitation of a vessel shape and/or a decorative technique in another than the original material is of particular importance for the study of the relationship between the production of vessels in different materials. An important indicator for skeuomorphism is the reproduction of a particular trait of another object in the production of a new one, even if this trait would actually no longer be necessary or no longer serves its original purpose.

Eine dem Archäologischen Museum der Westfälischen Wilhelms-Universität Münster im Jahr 2009 von der Stadt Grevenbroich als Dauerleihgabe zur Verfügung gestellte Antikensammlung enthält zahlreiche antike, byzantinische und frühislamische Glasobjekte sowie einige Imitate solcher Gläser, die in ihrer Qualität sehr unterschiedlich und nicht immer eindeutig von den Originalen zu unterscheiden sind. Die Herkunft der Gläser ist unbekannt, aber es ist zu vermuten, dass die meisten von ihnen aus dem Nahen Osten oder aus Nordafrika stammen. So finden sich darunter einige für diese Regionen typische Formen der römischen Kaiserzeit, der byzantinischen und der frühislamischen Zeit. Die mit Abstand meisten der Gläser wurden durch freies Ausblasen eines erhitzten Glaspostens hergestellt. Daneben gehören der Sammlung aber auch mehrere in eine Form geblasene Gläser, Schmuckobjekte sowie das Fragment einer formgeschmolzenen frührömischen Rippenschale an. Die sog. Sandkerntechnik wird durch ein modernes Imitat solcher Gläser repräsentiert, das jedoch durch Glasblasen hergestellt wurde.

The Augustan Period is of vital importance for the study of the history of glass production in the western provinces of the Imperium Romanum. The technique of glassblowing was introduced during the second quarter of the first century B.C. in the eastern Mediterranean and meant a genuine revolution of the glass vessels, both for the number of vessels produced and for the variety of their shapes. The innovation reached Italy some decades later and spread quickly over all of the western provinces. In these regions the first workshops for vessel glass arose at the end of the first century B.C. and the beginning of the first century A.D., probably mostly directed by immigrants from the East, e.g. the well-known Artas from Sidon, who worked in central and northern Italy.
Very important for this period is also the concept of skeuomorphism, the analogy of shape in different materials. By means of the new technique the production of glass vessels could be significantly increased. Therewith, a necessity of new shapes arose, the production of which was made possible just thanks to the technical innovations. The existence of a new wealthy clientele fostered the rise of the western production, which began to develop own innovations, affecting also the East, which was now losing its former hegemony.
Consequently many shapes of the glass vessels from this period can also be found in ceramics and precious metal. The specific study of these shapes reveals multilateral relations between the different materials and shows that the products of the glass workshops not only repeated shapes known from other materials, but started to influence the potters’ work.

The concept of skeuomorphism, meaning the imitation of a vessel shape and/or a decorative technique in another than the original material, is of particular importance for the study of the relations between the production of vessels in different materials. An important indicator for skeuomorphism is the reproduction of a particular trait of another object in the production of a new one, even if this trait would actually no longer be necessary or no longer serves its original purpose.
Morphological correspondences can frequently be identified between glass, ceramic and metal vessels from the Roman imperial period. The closer investigation of these reveals alternative interdependencies between glass and ceramics whereas unilateral influence seems only possible for the relation between toreutics and glass. It becomes obvious that the development and distribution of vessel shapes in different materials at different stages of the Roman Empire followed certain rules. These rules were dictated by the tastes of the customers, obviously subject to constant and dynamic changes. The evidence suggests that conscious or unconscious inspiration seems to have been at play more often than genuine imitation. However, some vessel shapes are so similar in different materials that one must assume a real and conscious imitation. This is particularly the case if both shape and decoration match.
Impulses from other materials in the production of glass vessels are noticeable primarily during the period following the invention of glassblowing in the first half of the 1st c. B.C. Especially in Italy where this technical innovation was not known until several decades later there was an enormous increase in glass vessel production, making necessary the employment of new shapes, previously unknown in glass. Equality of shape between glass and ceramic or glass and metal vessels, therefore, occurs particularly in the 1st and in the first half of the 2nd c. A.D. The fact that there are fewer parallels in later times is probably the result of the glassmakers increasingly developing own shapes and of such special shapes that were available only in glass being more and more appreciated.
The general development of the terra sigillata and glass vessel shapes was very similar during the entire imperial period. Analogous developments were taking place in both materials. So the artisans apparently followed the same general changing demands of the customers. In all material classes, however, only the shapes that could be made without major technical difficulties were adopted. For this reason there are many counterparts of vessels of other materials in the flexibly editable glass.
In many cases very similar vessels made in glass and ceramics are probably to be explained with a parallel imitation of toreutic models. However, due to the small number of preserved metal vessels these models are not always identifiable. This lack of tradition is the main reason for many results of this study being applicable only to glass and ceramics, but not to toreutics.
There is clear evidence that in ancient times a large number of vessel shapes were being imitated in a different material, but that the craftsmen included new elements in their work which were bound to this particular material.

Apart from some pieces of moldings nearly all fragments of marble discovered on Dülük Baba Tepesi in the last years were once part of wall-panels and pavements. Even though all of these finds had, when they were discovered, already been removed from their original contexts, their analysis still allows us to draw some conclusions. The result is, despite the uncertainties resulting from the aforementioned lack of original contexts, a picture of architectural structures that were – as appropriate for a sanctuary of supra-regional importance in the Roman Period – most likely richly decorated on the in- as well as on the outside. Remarkable find-concentrations at the outer edges of the sanctuary might possibly be seen in relation to the disassembly of the entire complex.
More than half of the marble fragments belong to the colored marble types Cipollino Verde and Pavonazzetto, a third to various white marbles and the rest to miscellaneous colored marble types. Almost the entire inventory of marbles was thus imported from the Aegean area. A usage of white marble from quarries in parts of Asia Minor that were located in closer proximity to the sanctuary can, on the basis of the current state of research, not be proven. The typological composition indicates a dating of the majority of the finds to the early to middle Imperial Age, probably to the first half of the second century A.D. Traces of color found on some of the fragments point to an intentional coloring in antiquity, the exact structure of which cannot be identified anymore. A small number of marble fragments belongs to moldings, which served as bordering elements for the wall-encrustation. Their forms differ quite substantially, which suggests that they were once mounted in different places and probably also in different spatial contexts within the sanctuary.

Recent studies have shown that the concept of skeuomorphism is of essential importance for the study of Roman vessels made of all materials. In current research, this term indicates the transfer of certain characteristics from one material to another. For the relation between vessels made of glass and (semi-)precious stones, this applies primarily to colour and decoration of the vessels, among other reasons because the scarcity of extant Roman stone vessels makes a comparison of their shapes to vessels made of other materials quite difficult. The closer analysis of the relations between glass and stone vessels in the Roman Imperial Period shows that it is very likely that cases of skeuomorphism in this context always followed the general rule, which is, however, not always applicable to other materials, that the cheaper (glass) imitates the more expensive material (stone). Most imitations of precious stones occurred in the glass industry of the beginning of the Roman Empire, for which one can observe an adaptation of the key properties of practically all of the popular precious stones by the glassworkers. For late Roman times, imitations seem to continue on a rather limited scale, but there are still – mainly among the luxury glass vessels – some examples of new creations that maybe not imitated, but were at least inspired by precious stone vessels.

Recent studies have shown that the concept of skeuomorphism is of essential importance for the study of Roman vessels made of all materials. In current research, this term indicates the transfer of certain characteristics from one material to another. For the relation between vessels made of glass and (semi-)precious stones, this applies primarily to colour and decoration of the vessels, among other reasons because
the scarcity of extant Roman stone vessels makes a comparison of their shapes to vessels made of other materials quite difficult. The closer analysis of the relations between glass and stone vessels in the Roman Imperial Period shows that it is very likely that cases of skeuomorphism in this context always followed the general rule, which is, however, not always applicable to other materials, that the cheaper (glass) imitates the more expensive material (stone). Most imitations of precious stones occurred in the glass industry of the beginning of the Roman Empire, for which one can observe an adaptation of the key properties of practically all of the popular precious stones by the glassworkers. For late Roman times, imitations seem to continue on a rather limited scale, but there are still – mainly among the luxury glass vessels – some examples of new creations that maybe not imitated, but were at least inspired by precious stone vessels.

The concept of skeuomorphism, meaning the imitation of a vessel shape and/or a decorative technique in another than the original material is of particular importance for the study of the relationship between the production of vessels in different materials. An important indicator for skeuomorphism is the reproduction of a particular trait of another object in the production of a new one, even if this trait would actually no longer be necessary or no longer serves its original purpose.
Morphological correspondences can frequently be identified between glass, ceramic and metal vessels of the Roman imperial period in large numbers. The closer investigation of these reveals alternative interdependencies between glass and ceramics whereas unilateral influence seems only possible for the relationship between toreutics and glass. It becomes obvious that the development and distribution of vessel shapes in different materials at different stages of the Roman Empire followed certain rules. These rules were dictated by the tastes of the customers, obviously subject to constant and dynamic changes. The evidence suggests that conscious or unconscious imitation seems to have been at play more often than genuine imitation. However, some vessel shapes are so similar in different materials that one must assume a real and conscious imitation. This is particularly the case if both shape and decoration match.
Impulses from other materials in the production of glass vessels are noticeable primarily during the period following the invention of glassblowing in the first half of the 1st century BC. Especially in Italy where this technical innovation was not known until a few decades later there was an enormous increase in glass vessel production, making necessary new shapes, previously unknown in glass. Equality of shape between glass and ceramic or glass and metal vessels, therefore, occurs particularly in the 1st and in the first half of the 2nd century AD. The fact that there are fewer parallels in later times, is probably the result of the glassmakers increasingly developing own shapes and that such special shapes that were available only in glass, were more and more appreciated.
The general development of the terra sigillata and glass vessel shapes was very similar during the entire imperial period. Analogous developments were taking place in both materials. So the artisans apparently followed the same general changing demands of the customers. In all material classes, however, only the shapes were adopted that could be made without major technical difficulties. For this reason there are many counterparts of vessels of other materials in the flexibly editable glass.
In many cases very similar vessels made in glass and ceramics are probably to be explained with a parallel imitation of toreutic models. However, due to the small number of preserved metal vessels these models are not always identifiable. This lack of tradition is the main reason for many results of this study being applicable only to glass and ceramics, but not to toreutics.
There is clear evidence that in ancient times a large number of vessel shapes were being imitated in a different material, but that the craftsmen included new elements in their work which were bound to this particular material.