Late Roman Nuppe glasses
As prunted referred to glass drinking vessels with applied glass drops, called prunts are decorated. They are mostly known to today's glass collectors as forest glass from the 15th to 17th centuries and as Romans from the 17th century. Forerunners were already common in late antiquity in large parts of the Roman Empire .
Definition and dissemination
The late Roman tableware includes cups of various shapes, the outer wall of which is often decorated with geometric patterns or figurative representations that were cut into the vessel wall.
The decorations also often include brightly colored melted nubs. They can be felt both on the outside wall and inside the vessel as raised points. The reason for this is that the wall of the vessel is sunk slightly inwards at the points where the nubs were melted.
The majority of the tumbler glasses widespread in the Roman Empire were provided with monochrome blue knobs; this is especially true for the Eastern Roman Empire. In the three western Roman provinces of Germania superior , Germania inferior and Gallia Belgica , there were also numerous finds of glasses with nubs in 2, 3 or even 4 different colors (mostly yellow, green, brown, blue and red), which are often additionally with brightly colored glass threads were decorated. These multi-colored, harmoniously composed tumbler and thread glasses, for which the place of origin and manufacture is assumed to be the place of discovery, are among the most beautiful glasses of late antiquity.
Roman Nuppe vessels can be divided into
- the rare Kantharoi from sites on the Rhine with nubs and threads,
- the more common Nuppen cups , hemispherical or conical , with or without a stand ring , colored or colorless, which existed in both the Western and Eastern Roman Empire.
Kantharoi with nub decoration
The Kantharos shape is a rare shape among the Nuppen glass vessels. Kantharoi are usually given a cut decoration. If they have knobs, they are usually combined with a zigzag thread between two horizontal threads (example 2). Exceptions are Kantharoi compositions of knobs and spiral threads (Example 1), as they often occur under the mouth or on the neck, especially in late Roman beakers and jugs.
Example 1: Kantharos from Wolfsheim
The kantharos from Wolfsheim ( Landesmuseum Mainz ) was found in 1934 while building drainage ditches in the corridor "In the hamlet" near Wolfsheim. The vessel is part of the grave goods of a man who in the late 4th century in a sarcophagus made of sandstone was buried. Two more glasses, a barrel jug, a flat bowl and a belt buckle made of bronze belong to this find. Since the grave goods were kept in a sarcophagus, they are all very well preserved, with the kantharos only showing a small crack on the edge over one of the handles.
The kantharos has the shape of a hemispherical cup with a foot and two handles. It consists of greenish streaked glass with small bubbles, the procedure of the ancient glassmaker is also visible in some places on the glass : The stem base was formed from a glass bubble together with the vessel body during the work process and was not attached separately, whereby the stem is hollow and hexagonal in cross-section is.
The vessel wall is divided into two parts by the handles and is decorated on both sides with round, medium-sized nubs. On both sides the decoration has the same appearance with blue and amber colored knobs. A total of 10 nubs are arranged in four rows, the arrangement resulting in an upside-down triangle.
In the top row of the kantharos there are four nubs, and in the lower rows there is one less nub than in the previous row. The knobs in the top row are also nicked by pressing a tool, with their surface indented irregularly. The colors of the nubs are evenly distributed on both sides of the vessel wall - blue and amber nubs alternate in each row.
A thin, amber-colored thread is attached below the edge, which circles the vessel in four turns. The handles are made of thick glass threads and were melted onto the kantharos. The upper handle attachments overlap the lower turns of the spiral thread, the glass threads at the lower handle attachment being drawn out to form very thin web-like extensions.
Example 2: Nuppenkantharos from Neuss
This Kantharos is in the Rheinisches Landesmuseum Bonn . In terms of shape, size and nub decor, it has a lot in common with Wolfsheimer Glas, but there are also small differences: It is slightly higher, has a smaller rim diameter and therefore slimmer proportions. The web-like extension of the lower handle attachments is also more sophisticated here. The nubs are again arranged in four rows in the shape of an upside-down triangle, although they are somewhat smaller and more irregular. The top row contains five knobs, the row below has four knobs on one side and only three knobs on the other. Thus, the two sides of the vessel wall have a different number of knobs.
The nubs are colored turquoise green and dark brown, whereby the distribution of the colors is very unusual. Normally, the colors of multi-colored nub glasses alternate in the rows of nubs , but the Neusser Kantharos have nubs of the same color in three rows. Under the edge there is also a zigzag thread, which is lined with two thin horizontal threads. The same colors were used here as with the nubs: the zigzag thread is turquoise green and the horizontal threads dark brown. The zigzag thread overlaps the horizontal threads in several places, so it was only attached after the dark brown threads.
Nuppenbecher
The much more common form among the late antique Nuppen glasses are beaker vessels. They were widespread in both the Western Roman and Eastern Roman Empire since the 4th century at the latest. Beakers were made in both parts of the empire from colored as well as from colorless glass, in hemispherical or conical shape. Younger vessels (late 4th century) usually have a standing ring (flat cup base).
Colored glass in the Western Roman Empire
As explained, the main areas of late Roman glass production were the Roman-populated areas on the Rhine and Moselle, as well as in what is now Belgium and eastern France. Due to the migration of peoples , the continuity of Central European glass production was lost in large parts of the Western Roman Empire, but according to the prevailing opinion not everywhere and not completely. This view is based on the fact that in graves from the Merovingian period Franconian goblet glass was found in simple thread decorations in the Roman style; however, since the Carolingian rule in the 9th century, the evidence for everyday glass has become scarce, as the dead were no longer buried with grave goods and the main client for glass production was now the clergy, who needed flat glass for church windows. Nupped glass based on the late Roman model cannot be traced back to Franconian times, but a coarser variant of glass stoppers placed on the so-called proboscis cups .
Hemispherical shapes without a stand ring
In general, late Roman hemispherical cup cups have a height of 9 cm and a diameter of 12 cm. The combination of nub decor and zigzag thread is the most common on hemispherical cups. This form of the Nuppenbechers without a stand ring seems to have been made until the middle of the 4th century. Evidence of this is a cup that was found in a cemetery in the Aisne department in France and dates from the middle of the 4th century.
Nuppenbecher from Ober-Olm
This hemispherical doll cup has been in the possession of the Landesmuseum Mainz for 150 years. Since the beaker was found in the middle of the 19th century in the area of a Franconian burial ground in Ober-Olm, it was mistaken for a Franconian glass. Due to the shape and decoration, however, the vessel can easily be identified as a Roman Nuppe glass of the 4th century.
The mug is made of very light, slightly greenish colored glass. The vessel wall is decorated with two rows of four nubs each. The nubs are round, large and alternate in blue and amber tones. The upper knobs are naveled and the lower ones are smooth. There is a zigzag thread under the edge that also alternates between amber and blue. The color changes every quarter of the circumference of the vessel. The upper horizontal thread is also amber throughout, the lower one is blue. The zigzag thread overlaps the horizontal threads in several places, as already described in the Neusser Kantharos, whereby this type of attachment of the threads is the same for many Nuppen glasses.
Cup finds from Cologne and Gondorf on the Moselle
These two cup finds from Cologne and Gondorf are close parallels to the cup from Ober-Olm. The cup from the Roman-Germanic Museum in Cologne is made of greenish, very streaky glass. On the vessel there are two rows of nubs with nubs that are alternately amber and the same color (the same color as the glass). With the zigzag thread under the edge, one half is the same color and the other half is amber. The two horizontal threads, on the other hand, are amber-colored throughout.
The Gondorfer beaker, which is now in the Rheinisches Landesmuseum Bonn, is made of colorless glass with a slight olive green tinge. It is 8.8 cm high and is decorated with two rows of small, irregularly shaped and smooth nubs. Turquoise-colored and amber-colored knobs alternate, with the same colors being used for the zigzag thread. The zigzag thread is amber in a quarter of the circumference of the vessel and turquoise green in the remaining three quarters.
Hemispherical shapes with a stand ring
Nuppenbecher from Monsheim
One example is the Nuppenbecher from the Roman-Germanic Central Museum in Mainz (formerly the Fliedner / Monsheim collection).
This cup has three rows of knobs, the shape and thickness of which are irregular. A total of twelve knobs are attached to the vessel, with the knobs in the top row being bifurcated. The nubs are alternately amber with a tinge of olive and the same color and are located at irregular distances from one another. In principle, however, there are nests of the same color in every diagonal rising to the right. The color of the zigzag thread changes from amber to the same color every quarter of the circumference. The horizontal threads are both amber with an olive stitch. The Nuppenbecher also has a streaky glass mass, with the streaks of the glass rising around the cup in a spiral to the left. There is also a purple thread running from the bottom to the edge of the cup, which can be seen once stronger and once weaker, and which was probably created unintentionally.
Nuppenbecher from Chalons-sur-Marne
This mug is in the Musée des Antiquités Nationales in Saint-Germain-en-Laye . It is similar to the one from Mainz and has two rows of pinned nubs, which - like the zigzag thread - are colored blue and amber / yellowish. Since the large, bunched nubs are reminiscent of the nubs of the stand-ring-free beakers, one could possibly assign the beaker from Chalons-sur-Marne to the earlier cup with a stand-ring, assuming that it was made in the 3rd quarter of the 4th century.
Conical shapes without a stand ring
Even with the conical beaker shapes, the older vessels - from the beginning of the 4th century - did not have a stand ring, which only appeared towards the end of this century. The combination of knobs and zigzag threads, like those found on other vessels, is common, for example on spherical bowls, diatet glasses and drinking horns .
Mug from Bingen-Kempten
An example of this is the beaker from Bingen-Kempten, which is made of slightly greenish and streaky glass with many bubbles. The nubs and the thread decoration are amber and blue with a slight turquoise cast. The knobs have a highly oval shape and are arranged in three rows of four knobs each. The knobs in the first two rows are nibbled, the remaining knobs have a smooth surface and are slightly smaller. The zigzag thread is half blue and the other half amber, with the horizontal threads being amber throughout. Since the glass threads are very thick, the colors appear very dark and cannot be easily distinguished. However, this is easily possible in backlight, viewed from inside the vessel. The zigzag thread and the horizontal threads of the cup have partially flaked off, which is also common with other Nuppen glasses. Since the threads only lie lightly on the vessel wall, this often leads to corresponding damage.
Conical shapes with stand ring
Mug from Folklingen / Lorraine
The cup is decorated with knotted nubs, which are arranged in two rows. The shape of the nubs is special, as they are drawn down in a teardrop shape. Under the edge there is again a typical zigzag thread. The mug was found in Folklingen in Lorraine and is now in the Museum of Prehistory and Early History (Berlin) in Charlottenburg Palace .
Mug from Bad Kreuznach
This cup in the Rheinisches Landesmuseum Bonn has a similar decor as the cup from Folklingen / Lorraine. The cup is made of greenish glass and shows the same colored and brown editions. The knobs are drawn out in a teardrop shape and are in a row, separated from one another by five vertically notched threads. Three of the nubs here are brown and two of the same color, with the vertical thread supports it is the other way round. The zigzag thread is two thirds of the same color and the rest is brown. The horizontal threads are the same color.
Colorless glass in the Western Roman Empire
Nupp glasses made of colorless glass do not have thread supports. Their decor consists only of knobs in one or two colors and circular grinding lines. In addition, such tumbler glasses should be mentioned which only have knobs of the same color, so that the color of the knobs from the vessel wall cannot be differentiated.
Nuppenbecher from Gonsenheimer Hohl in Mainz
This colorless Nuppenbecher was found together with a glass jug in a sarcophagus, which was discovered in 1952 during excavation work on the Gonsenheimer Hohl in Mainz. Despite many breaks and cracks, the cup is almost completely preserved, with only the edge broken off completely. On the cup, high oval large nubs alternate with groups of six small nubs, each forming an upside-down triangle. The nubs are alternately amber and moss green. Under the edge there is also a band of around six delicately torn cut lines, which can only be seen on closer inspection.
Nuppenbecher from Flomborn
This doll cup is made of absolutely colorless glass and has a curved wall. The cup has a somewhat streaky glass mass, some of which contain large bubbles, some of which can be clearly felt with the finger. Five blue and five same-colored nubs alternate on the vessel wall. The nubs are small and irregular in shape, and the spaces between them are also somewhat irregular. In some nubs, impurities and streaks are also visible. The decoration also includes two bundles of cut lines: One of the bundles is delicately torn 3 cm below the edge, the other is very narrow and is about 2 cm above the ground.
Nupp glasses of eastern origin
Numerous Nuppe glasses were also found in the eastern provinces of the Roman Empire. These only have blue nubs and can be distinguished from western glasses due to the shape, color and texture of the decoration. The eastern glasses were mainly made in Syria , Judea , Egypt and Pannonia .
According to the prevailing opinion, the glass art of the Eastern Roman Empire - superseded and refined by that of Islam - was ultimately the basis for the Central European bubble glass production. This began with very simple forms in the forest glassworks founded in the mid-14th century. This is assumed because the high-quality doll glass from Syria was traded via Venice , where people were able to produce their own pearl doll cups as early as the 13th century. Despite all of Venice's attempts to secure the sole know-how of the art of glassmaking through strict secrecy, the nub and filament glass style - as well as later the more elaborate style elements à la façon de Venise - came to the areas north of the Alps and have been there since traceable to the late 15th / early 16th century.
Nuppenbecher in the Roman-Germanic Central Museum Mainz
Two tumbler glasses were found in Dunaújváros / Hungary, the ancient Intercisa in Pannonia. These are two low, half-oval cups that are slightly wider than they are high. They are made of colorless, very thick-walled glass, which is also reflected in the weight of the glasses. One mug is 6.2 cm high and weighs 83 grams, the other is 6.4 cm high and weighs 93 grams. The cups are decorated differently: One cup is decorated with two larger nubs, which alternate with two groups of three smaller nubs. The other cup has a circumferential band of a total of 22 small knobs above half the height of the container.
Nuppenbecher in the Landesmuseum Mainz
A mug imported from the east was found in the northwest of the Roman Empire. The mug is made of colorless glass and has very thick walls. Halfway up the height of the vessel, the vessel is decorated with a band of 17 small blue nodules of predominantly oval shape. The Nuppband is lined with two wide and deep grooves. A third grinding groove is then just below the edge.
Nupp vessels with gold decoration
The lower part of a glass vessel with blue nodules and figurative gold decoration comes from the grave field near St. Severin in Cologne . A gold foil was first applied to the vessel body, onto which the nub was then melted , similar to the production of intermediate gold glass . Biblical scenes are shown, including scenes from the Jonas story, Adam and Eve and Daniel in the lions' den. Comparable dolls were also known from catacombs in Rome .
literature
- Martine Newby, Kenneth Painter: Roman Glass: Two centuries of Art and Invention , London, Society of Antiquaries of London 1991
- Michael J. Klein (Ed.): Roman glass art and wall painting , Mainz, von Zabern 1999
- Rosemarie Lierke: Antique glass pottery , A forgotten chapter of history , Mainz, von Zabern 1999
- Kenneth Painter: The gold glass bowl from St. Severin. In: D. Harden et al., Glass of the Caesars. Exhibition catalog Cologne 1988, pp. 279–281.