Spectacular Translucence: The Games in Glass

Abstract

Glass cups bearing labeled images of charioteers and gladiators were popular between AD 50 and 80 and have been found throughout the empire’s northwestern quadrant, including Italy. Fashioned in the recently invented technique of mold-blowing, their words and images were doubly legible on the translucent support: the names and contestants appear on both sides of the glass wall. A phenomenological approach to the cups reveals an overlooked phase in the representation of the empire’s leading sports, as well as new ways of reading and watching the games in glass. The cups’ sensory allure complicates their traditional categorization as souvenirs and vehicles of imperial propaganda.

Keywords

• gladiators
• charioteers
• glass
• mold-blown
• Roman provinces
• art