Gold-glass fragment depicting Christ with saints, Rome Alison E. Cooley AEC/ASHL AN2007.10.xml Oxford Ashmolean Museum AN2007.10 AshLI 393

A semicircular fragment of greenish glass with gold inset, from the base of a plate. In the centre is the beardless bust of Christ, surrounded by a nimbus (clearly drawn in Garrucci 1876). Around the patterned circumference are figures standing in a circle, separated by rosettes, three completely preserved and one partially. There would probably originally have been two further figures, now missing (Garrucci [1862]: p.6), one of whom may have been Saint Paul (Testini 1969: p.314 no.151). The beardless male figures, wearing tunic and pallium, stand frontally, their hands in front of them holding a scroll, their heads covered.

Dimensions: Diameter, 0.092 (gold pattern diameter, 0.067); 0.052 0.004

Each figure is labelled with its name, showing them to be Saints Peter, Luke, Sustus (ie Sixtus), and perhaps John.

 Letters: 0.003 Rome AD c.325-400 (Zanchi Roppo 1967: pp.58-59; Ladner 1941: p.33) This fragment of gold-glass was recorded after it had been purchased by the antiquities’ dealers, Tommaso and Vincenzo Capobianchi, in Catania at the public sale of the collection of the deceased Baron Alessio Recupero, and was seen in their shop on Via del Babuino in Rome by Garrucci ([1862]; 1864; 1876: p.175). It seems most likely that Recupero had originally purchased the gold-glass in Rome, before taking it to Sicily (Garrucci [1862]: p.3). It was then bought by Charles W. Wilshere at the antiquities shop of the Capobianchi in Rome (Vattuone 2000: pp.132-133) and brought to England. Wilshere’s purchase of this fragment (in contrast to others in his collection) was unknown to Vopel (1899), Leclercq (1923), and Ladner (1941), who were all ignorant of its current location. As an adherent of the Anglo-Catholic Oxford Movement, Wilshere had particular interest in early Christian and Jewish items. Bequeathed in 1906 by Wilshere to Pusey House, Oxford (on the Wilshere collection, see Webster 1929; Vickers 2011), it was subsequently loaned to and then purchased by the Ashmolean Museum in 2007. It was bought by the Ashmolean with the aid of the Art Fund, the Young Friends of the Ashmolean, the Friends of the Ashmolean, the Victoria and Albert Museum Purchase Grant Fund, National Heritage Memorial Fund, Patrons of the Ashmolean, and private donors (Walker 2014: p.68). It is currently on display in the Mediterranean Gallery. Photograph
JOHANNES PETRVS LVCAS SVSTVS

[John]; Peter; Luke; Sixtus

[JOHANN]ES (Garrucci, Webster, Vattuone)

Gold-glass is a feature of late antique Rome, and includes ‘pagan’, Christian, and Jewish iconography. Production appears to have flourished particularly in the fourth century AD. It consists of a thin layer of gold-leaf sandwiched between two layers of transparent glass. Originally belonging to complete glass vessels, the roundels that survive have been deliberately broken off from their vessels, to be embedded in the walls of catacombs in Rome, next to burials in loculi. Their function is much debated (summarised by Zanchi Roppo 1967: pp.16-19), but it seems clear that they were not put in place simply for the benefit of the deceased, but were intended to be viewed by visitors to the catacombs, particularly mourners of the deceased (Meredith 2015: p.221). Many indicate a link with feasting (Grig 2002), but it is perhaps most likely that no single explanation should be sought: they may on different occasions have been gifts associated with weddings, New Year’s Day, and other anniversaries. When complete, the glass vessels themselves may have been used in a variety of contexts, including funeral feasts and anniversary feasts to commemorate deceased individuals, as well as feasts in honour of martyrs (Walker 2014: p.69). Most of the gold-glass probably originated in relatively modest social contexts (Cameron 1996: p.299).

The name Sustus alludes to Pope Sixtus II (AD 257-258), who was martyred in 258 during the persecutions of Valerian (Ladner 1941: p.30). His feast-day was celebrated in August, and his veneration in the Catacomb of Callistus was promoted by Pope Damasus in the late fourth century (Grig 2004: p.220). The date for this fragment of AD c.400-450 suggested by Testini (1969: p.314 no.151) is rather later than the general pattern for gold-glass production, which seems to have stopped around AD 410 (Leclercq 1923: col.1820).

Garrucci [1862] p.6 no.V + drawing; Garrucci (1864) pp.143, tav.XXV no.4; Garrucci (1876) vol.3: p.175 + Tav. 194 no.4; Vopel (1899) p.109 no.387; Leclercq (1923) col.1839 no.228; Webster (1929) p.153 no.74; Morey (1959) p.61 no.363 + Plate XXXI; Ladner (1941) p.33 no.6; Testini (1969) p.314 no.151; Ashmolean Museum Department of Antiquities MS. Accession Register 2007.10

Cameron A. 1996 Orfitus and Constantius: a note on Roman gold-glasses JRA 9 295-301 Garrucci R. 1862 Descrizione dei vetri ornati di figure in oro appartenenti al sig. Tommaso Capobianchi Garrucci R. 1864 (2nd edition) Vetri ornati di figure in oro trovati nei cimiteri dei cristiani primitivi di Roma Rome Tipografia delle Belle Arti Garrucci R. 1876 Storia della arte cristiana nei primi otto secoli della chiesa. Vol.3: Pitture non cimiteriali Prato G. Guasti Grig L. 2004 Portraits, pontiffs and the Christianization of fourth-century Rome PBSR 72 203-230 Ladner G.B. 1941 Die Papstbildnisse des Altertum und des Mittelalters. Vol. 1: Biz zum Ende des Investiturstreits Città del Vaticano Pontificio Istituto di Archeologia Leclercq H. 1923 Fonds de coupes Dictionnaire d’archéologie chrétienne et de liturgie Cabrol F. and Leclercq H. 5.2 cols 1819-1859 Paris Libraire Letouzey et Ané Meredith C.R. 2015 Engaging mourners and maintaining unity: third and fourth century gold-glass roundels from Roman catacombs Religion in the Roman Empire 1.2 219-41 Morey C.R. 1959 The Gold-Glass Collection of the Vatican Library with additional catalogues of other gold glass collections Città del Vaticano Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana Testini P. 1969 L’iconografia degli apostolic nelle «arti minori» Saecularia Petri et Pauli, Studi di antichità cristiana 28 Città del Vaticano Pontificio Istituto di Archeologia Cristiana 241-323 Vattuone L. 2000 I vetri dorati della Collezione Wilshere nella Pusey House di Oxford Annales du 14e Congres de l’Association Internationale pour l’Histoire du Verre Lochem AIHV 132-36 Vickers M. 2011 The Wilshere Collection of Early Christian and Jewish Antiquities in the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford Miscellanea a Emilio Marin Sexagenario Dicata Split Franjevačka provincija Presv. Otkupitelja: Kačić 41-43 605-614 Vopel H. Die altchristlichen Goldgläser. Ein Beitrag zur altchristlichen Kunst- und Kulturgeschichte Leipzig and Tübingen Archäologische Studien zum christlichen Altertum und Mittelalter 5: Freiburg I.B., J.C.B. Mohr Walker S. 2014 The Wilshere collection of late Roman gold-glass at the Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford Neighbours and Successors of Rome. Traditions of glass production and use in Europe and the Middle East in the later first millenium AD Keller D. Price J. Jackson C. Oxford and Philadelphia Oxbow 68-72 Webster T.B.L. 1929 The Wilshere Collection at Pusey House in Oxford Journal of Roman Studies 19 150-54 Zanchi Roppo F. 1967 Vetri paleocristiani a figure d’oro Ravenna Edizioni A. Longo