Page 99 - Studia Universitatis Hereditati, vol 13(2) (2025)

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Figure 6: Finely Ribbed Shallow Bowl Made of Translucent Glass with a Bluish Tinge, Mould-Blown (photo by Nadir
Mavrović, 2025)

Based on recent finds from August, Sylvia Several products were imported from the
Fünfschilling (2015) concludes that this divi- Eastern workshops, produced in various bright
sion is more or less artificial; in archaeological colours such as green, blue, violet, amber, etc.
layers, finds from Groups 1 and 2 are represent- The products are not very numerous, which is
ed simultaneously, from the end of the reign of why the finds are even more important. On sev-
Tiberius until the early years of Nero’s reign eral sites across the Empire, we may observe that
(Fünfschilling 2015, 113). The forms of all three mould-blown vessels of the 1st century were a
groups can also be traced together in archae- rarity, and available predominantly to well-to-do
ological contexts; e.g., circus cups and ribbed clients. They are seldom found in graves; proba- Selected Glass Finds from Apsorus (Osor) – Reflection of Wealth and Prestige
bowls are represented throughout the second bly, they were considered too precious.
half of the 1st century. The proposed division Among the Osor finds, we should mention
was an attempt to arrange the known products at least three examples of different forms, which
chronologically within the group as a whole. are excellent representatives of mould-blown se-
Today, the archaeological contexts do not ful- ries from the 1st century.
ly support the proposed timespan and division, The first one is a shallow, finely ribbed bowl
according to Sylvia Fünfschilling (Fünfschil- (pl. 1, 4) made of high-quality clear glass with a
ling 2015, 113). slight bluish tinge (fig. 6). It was possibly blown
The technique of mould-blowing flourishes into a one-part mould. On the inside of the bot-
from the mid-first century to the Flavian period, tom, we can see a vestigial omphalos, while on
with a slightly different development in the west the underside, two concentric ridges. The group
than in the eastern part of the empire. Given the of mould-blown shallow bowls is considerably
representation of particular forms, like mould- smaller than that of deeper specimens, as shown
blown bottles with various decorations, the cra- by an overview of these finds in the Gallia Nar-
dle of this technique is probably somewhere in bonensis region, where this vessel form is the
the Middle East (Stern 1995, 66); however, al- most common among all mould-blown products
most nothing is known about the location of the (Fontaine and Roussel-Ode 2010, fig. 9). Jennif-
production centres. er Price notes that shallow bowls are noticeably