Glass Production and Consumption in the Hellenistic World by Katherine
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
From Luxury Product to Mass Commodity: Glass Production and Consumption in the Hellenistic World by Katherine Anne Larson A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Classical Art and Archaeology) in the University of Michigan 2016 Doctoral Committee: Professor Sharon C. Herbert, Chair Associate Professor Ian Moyer Professor Lisa Nevett Professor Margaret Cool Root Professor Carla Sinopoli © Katherine Anne Larson, 2016 Dedication For Mom and Dad ii Acknowledgments Over the last eight years, Sharon Herbert has been my mentor and advisor, providing everything from dissertation and career advice to book recommendations to a (temporary) place to live. I am so grateful for her wisdom, experience, leadership, and insight. I admire so much about her, and the greatest privilege of my Michigan education has been the opportunity to learn from Sharon and count her a friend. Carla Sinopoli helped with much of the intellectual framing of this dissertation, including a push to get me to explore the consumption side of Hellenistic glass alongside the production and technology angle. Her sage advice at every stage has been invaluable. Margaret Cool Root introduced me to the world of ancient artists and workshop production as well as network theory, which didn’t quite made its way into this project but informed my early thinking about technological and knowledge exchange in important ways. Thank you for many stimulating discussions in which I always felt encouraged and engaged. Lisa Nevett provided keen advice on theoretical applications to material datasets and the growth of the economy and increased private domestic display in the first millennium BCE, which helped me grasp the bigger picture of how glass fit into contemporary societal trends. Ian Moyer helped situate my research within the broader scope of Hellenistic history and economy, for which I am thoroughly grateful. I also extend great appreciation and admiration to Andrea Berlin, for teaching me to find the story in each group of objects and sharing her love of the Hellenistic world, and to Elaine Gazda, for her unwavering encouragement during my time in iii IPCAA, including her assistance in formulating the ideas and structure at early research stages of this dissertation. Rackham Graduate School, the Interdepartmental Program in Art and Archaeology, the Classics Department, and the Museum Studies Program have provided research funding and logistical support over these many years at Michigan. Since beginning work on this dissertation, I received additional funding from the International Institute at the University of Michigan, the American School of Classical Studies at Athens, the American Schools of Oriental Research, and the Association Internationale pour l’Histoire du Verre to support travel, research, and presentation of new ideas, connecting me to a network of scholars and facilitating important exchanges of knowledge. Alex Zwinak deserves special individual mention and accolades for everything he does to support IPCAA students on small and large scales. Many individuals have provided crucial assistance with the technical, scholarly, and material aspects of this research. I benefited immensely from a trip to the Corning Museum of Glass and Rakow Research Library in April 2015, and I have deep appreciation for the hospitality, knowledge, and warmth shared by everyone I met there, each of whom contributed to my thinking about glass. Special thanks to Gail Bardhan, Bill Gudenrath, Alexandra Ruggiero, and Karol Wight. I also wish to thank Tasos Antonaras, Laure Dussubieux, Alysia Fischer, Yael Gorin-Rosen, Ruth Jackson-Tal, Margaret O’Hea, Jutta Page, Marianne Stern, and Allison Sterrett-Krause for conversations and communications which provided additional insight into the current state of ancient glass research and publication. Any mistakes or misunderstandings herein are certainly my own. Guy Sanders and Ioulia Tzonou-Herbst at the American School Corinth Excavations allowed me to come study actual archaeological glass (even though there turned out not to be much Hellenistic) during Spring-Summer 2013. I am exceedingly grateful iv for their hospitality and generosity with material, time, and knowledge. Janet Jones kindly shared her draft manuscript of the cast and core-formed glass vessels from Gordion, and Elaine Gazda and Darby Scott allowed me to discuss David Grose’s unpublished manuscript on the glass from Cosa. I blew glass for the first time with Annette Baron of Baron Glassworks in Ypsilanti, Michigan, and I thank her for her enthusiasm and for showing me some ancient techniques. Peter Knoop unflinchingly aided my forays into database design and GIS-aided analysis. Any graduate program is only as good as its graduate students, and I am perpetually humbled by the greatness of my IPCAA colleagues. Thanks to my cohort mates Daniel Diffendale, Nicole High, Jana Mokrisova, and Emma Sachs, as well as archaeologists and travel companions at Michigan and beyond: Laura Banducci, Lisa Çakmak, Caitlin Clerkin, Henry Colburn, Katherine Harrington, Jenny Krieger, Tom Landvatter, Leah Long, Charlotte Maxwell- Jones, Michael McOsker, and Justin Winger. You have each contributed to my intellectual and personal growth in ways I can neither quantify nor fully explain. Your insights, bibliography suggestions, theoretical approaches, and love for the ancient world are at the heart of this dissertation. I also acknowledge with gratitude the friendship of Suzanne Davis and Collin Ganio, who kept me fed and sane from day one in Ann Arbor. Ryan Hughes is another brilliant IPCAA colleague and by all rights deserves intellectual acknowledgment along with them, not least for dealing with my exploits with GIS and map- making. Thanks for hanging in there with me through the “hard part.” You (and Pete) have made this all worth it. Let our New York adventure begin! Finally, to my family, for always, always, always showing pride, support, and love. Kim Otto first introduced me to the worlds of glass, international travel, and Macalester College, and I v am proud to be Chippie to her Dippie. Beth Piccard is the greatest sister and friend imaginable; I hope one day to be more like her. And to my parents, Barb and Dan Larson. You taught me to work hard and with integrity, to find pride and self worth from the inside, and that having passion for your career doesn’t mean you have to like everything about it. I’m not sure you expected me to apply those lessons to the pursuit of a Ph.D., but here we are. This dissertation contains over 100,000 words, but these two are the most important: Thank You. vi Table of Contents Dedication ................................................................................................................ ii Acknowledgments .................................................................................................. iii List of Figures ........................................................................................................ xii List of Tables ........................................................................................................ xiv Abstract ................................................................................................................. xvi Chapter 1. Glass and the Hellenistic World .......................................................... 1 Before the Revolution: The Significance of Hellenistic Glass ................................................... 1 Hellenization and the Hellenistic World ..................................................................................... 5 Economic Growth ....................................................................................................................... 8 Hellenistic Households and Material Culture ........................................................................... 13 Hellenization as Globalization .................................................................................................. 16 Overview of the Dissertation ...................................................................................................... 17 Methodology ............................................................................................................................. 17 Scope ......................................................................................................................................... 18 Limitations ................................................................................................................................ 29 Organization and Summary ...................................................................................................... 31 Chapter 2. Glass Workshops and Objects in the Hellenistic Period.................34 vii Changes in the Hellenistic Glass Industry: A Matter of Scale................................................ 34 What is Glass? Composition and Scientific Analysis............................................................... 35 Primary and Secondary Workshops ......................................................................................... 40 The Forms and Technologies of Hellenistic Glass ................................................................... 47 Core-form Cosmetic Vessels .................................................................................................... 48 Polychrome Tablewares ...........................................................................................................