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Form and Function of Central Italian Medieval Glass in the Light of Nds from the Benedictine Abbey of Farfa and the Palazzo Vitelleschi at Tarquinia

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Form and Function of Central Italian Medieval Glass in the Light of Nds from the Benedictine Abbey of Farfa and the Palazzo Vitelleschi at Tarquinia Durham E-Theses Form and function of central Italian medieval glass in the light of nds from the Benedictine Abbey of Farfa and the palazzo Vitelleschi at Tarquinia Newby, Martine Sarah How to cite: Newby, Martine Sarah (1999) Form and function of central Italian medieval glass in the light of nds from the Benedictine Abbey of Farfa and the palazzo Vitelleschi at Tarquinia, Durham theses, Durham University. Available at Durham E-Theses Online: http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/4600/ Use policy The full-text may be used and/or reproduced, and given to third parties in any format or medium, without prior permission or charge, for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-prot purposes provided that: • a full bibliographic reference is made to the original source • a link is made to the metadata record in Durham E-Theses • the full-text is not changed in any way The full-text must not be sold in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders. Please consult the full Durham E-Theses policy for further details. Academic Support Oce, Durham University, University Oce, Old Elvet, Durham DH1 3HP e-mail: [email protected] Tel: +44 0191 334 6107 http://etheses.dur.ac.uk 2 Form and Function of Central Italian Medieval Glass in the Light of Finds from the Benedictine Abbey of Farfa and the Palazzo Vitelleschi at Tarquinia Volume I (of II) Marline Sarah Newby The copyright of this thesis rests with the author No quotation from it should be published without the written consent of the author an information derived From it should be acknowledged MPhil. Thesis Submitted to the University of Durham Department of Archaeology March 1999 ABSTRACT Form and Function of Central Italian Medieval Glass in the Light of Finds from the Benedictine Abbey of Farfa and the Palazzo Vitelleschi at Tarquinia Martine Sarah Newby MPhil. Thesis Submitted to the University of Durham, Department of Archaeology, 1999 The study of medieval vessel glass in Italy is a relatively new discipline. Very few intact pieces survive but archaeological excavations have begun to produce a considerable volume of fragments. Two such excavations in central Italy, at the Abbey of Farfa and the Palazzo Vitelleschi, Tarquinia, have provided the opportunity to examine broadly contemporary assemblages from high status ecclesiastic and secular contexts. Evidence from the medieval Italian iconographical record has also been considered. The wealth and variety of the glass from Tarquinia is unprecedented with circa 600 vessels present. From these pieces it has been possible to identify a much wider range of vessels than previously recognized and to suggest divisions between tablewares and utilitarian pieces used for storage, distillation and medical purposes. They also show, for the first time, that glass was used in large quantities during the later Middle Ages in central Italy and provide archaeological confirmation of the surviving inventories of glass- makers' stock. The finds from Farfa and Tarquinia, together with pieces found in churches in Rome and now preserved in the Museo Sacro of the Vatican, show that the same types of glass vessel were being used in high status domestic households and religious communities with the exception of hanging lamps which are found exclusively on ecclesiastical sites of whatever status. They also suggest a change in the pattern of glass production and consumption by demonstrating the move away from heavier and more elaborately-decorated pieces at the end of the 13 th century, to mass-produced thin-walled mould-blown vessels by the end of the 14th century. This thesis is important because it has extended and amended the corpus of medieval glass known and will provide a firm foundation for future studies both in Italian medieval material culture and in the history of glass. TABLE CONTENTS VOLUME I Abstract i Table of Contents ii Volume I ii Volume II vi Acknowledgements viii List of Tables ix List of Plates x List of Figures xiv Declaration xix Chapter 1: Introduction Introduction 1 The Abbey of Farfa 2 History of the Abbey 2 The Excavations 3 Palazzo Vitelleschi, Tarquinia 5 History of Tarquinia 5 Palazzo Vitelleschi and the Excavations 7 The Finds 9 History of the Study of Italian Medieval Glass 12 Introduction 12 Excavation Reports and Regional Studies 14 Exhibitions 17 Conferences 18 Conclusion 20 Chapter 2: Glass Manufacture in Central Italy Introduction 21 Manufacture of Glass 21 Evidence from the Museo Sacro, Tarquinia and Farfa 25 Museo Sacro, Vatican Museums 25 Palazzo Vitelleschi, Tarquinia 25 Farfa Abbey 26 Archaeological Evidence 27 Corinth Glass-Houses 27 Italian Glass-Houses 28 Glass-Making in Tuscany 29 Archival Evidence 31 Medieval Treatises 31 Evidence from Accounts 33 Inventories 34 Iconographical Representations of Glass-Making 36 Conclusion 37 ii Chapter 3: Finewares: Drinking Vessels Introduction 39 Finewares and Utilitarian Vessels 39 Drinking Vessels 39 Goblets 41 Beakers with Applied Decoration 43 Introduction 43 Prunted Beakers 43 Prunted Beakers with Solid Base-Rings 44 Prunted Beakers with 'Toed' Base-Rings 47 Other Forms of Prunted Beakers 49 Beakers with Vertical Ribbing 50 Beakers with Thin Trailing 51 Undecorated Beakers 52 Beakers with Applied Solid Base-Rings 52 Beakers with Hollow-Tubular Base-Rings 52 Truncated-Conical Beakers 53 Mould-Blown Beakers 53 Introduction 53 Manufacture 54 Form 56 Decoration 57 Discussion 63 Conclusion 66 Differences Between Applied and Mould-Blown Beakers 66 Documentary Evidence 67 Iconographical Evidence 68 Chapter 4: Finewares: Bottles and Flasks Introduction 70 Free-Blown Bottles 71 Bottles with Neck Bulges or Swellings 71 Bottles with Applied Decoration 72 Bottles with Pincered Ribbed Bodies 73 Kuttrolfs 73 Bottles with Internal Rings 73 Bases with Hollow-Tubular Base-Rings 74 Discussion 75 Mould-Blown Bottles 77 Conclusion 78 Chapter 5: Jugs, Bowls and Other Domestic Finewares Introduction 80 Handled and/or Spouted Vessels 80 Introduction 80 Free-Blown Jugs 80 Mould-Blown Jugs 82 iii Chapter 5: Jugs, Bowls and Other Domestic Finewares (continued) Spouted Vessels 82 Discussion 83 Wide-Mouthed Vessels 87 Introduction 87 Bowls with Pedestal Feet 87 Bowls with Pincered 'Toed' Base-Rings 89 Bowls with Applied Decoration 90 Bowls with Mould-Blown Decoration 92 Deep Containers 92 Discussion 92 Covered Vessels 93 Introduction 93 Undecorated Covered Beakers 93 Undecorated Covered Footed Bowls 94 Covered Vessels with Applied Decoration 94 Discussion 95 Toilet Bottles 96 Chapter 6: Imported Finewares Introduction 97 Gilt and Enamelled Mamluk Glass 99 Gilt and Enamelled Mamluk Glass in Central Italy 99 Pseudo Islamic Glass 100 Islamic Glass in Europe 101 Wheel-Cut Islamic Glass 103 Byzantine Glass 104 Introduction 104 Byzantine Gilt and Enamelled Bottles 105 Byzantine Wheel-Cut Glass 106 Conclusion 107 Chapter 7: Utilitarian Glass Introduction 109 Glass for Storage 110 Introduction 110 Bottles 110 Flattened Bottles 111 Wide-Mouthed Bottles 111 Large and Medium-Sized Bottles 112 Bottle Bases 113 Small Round-Bottomed Flasks 113 Covered Vessels 114 Distilling Apparatus 114 Introduction 114 Evidence from Central Italy 115 Discussion 116 iv Chapter 7: Utilitarian Glass (continued) Medical Glass 117 Urinals and Uroscopy 117 Blood-Letting 119 Spectacles 119 Apothecary Glasses 120 Pestles and Mortars 122 Discussion 122 Lighting 123 Introduction 123 Hanging Lamps with Bulbous Bodies 124 Discussion 125 Chapter 8: Conclusion 130 Conclusion 130 Interpretations from Depictions 131 Comparisions of the Glass Found on Ecclesiastical and Domestic Sites 133 Measurement of Capacities 134 Implications of the Thesis and Further Suggestions for Future Research 135 Bibliography 137 Plates 1-49 v TABLE OF CONTENTS VOLUME II Appendices A. Catalogue of Vessel Glass Drinking Vessels 1 Goblets [1-5] 1 Prunted Beakers 2 Prunted Beakers with Solid Base-Rings [6-32] 2 Prunted Beakers with Applied 'Toed' Base-Rings [33-56] 6 Prunted Beakers with Triangular Clusters of Prunts [57-8] 10 Beakers with Prunts in Contrasting Colours [59-60] 10 Double Prunts [61] 10 Beakers with Applied Decoration 11 Ribbed Beakers with Toed' Base-Rings [62-8] 11 Beakers with Applied Trailing [69-76] 12 Plain Beakers 12 Beakers with Applied Solid Base-Rings [77-83] 14 Beakers with Hollow-Tubular Base-Rings [84-90] 15 Truncated-Conical Beakers [91-6] 16 Mould-Blown Beakers 16 Beakers with Circular Bosses [97- 111] 17 Beakers with Ribbing [112-27] 19 Beakers with Hexagons [128-33] 22 Beakers with Diamonds or Pointed Ovals [134-40] 23 Beakers with Squares or Rectangles [141-4] 24 Beakers with Other Mould-Blown Designs [145-6] 25 Bottles 26 Free-Blown 26 Bottles with Neck Bulges or Swellings [147-50] 26 Bottle Necks with Blue and Self-Coloured Trailing [151-2] 26 Bottle Necks with Blue Trailing [153-61] 27 Bottle Necks with Self-Coloured Trailing [ 162-6] 28 Bottles with Pincered Ribbed Bodies [ 167-9] 29 Undecorated Upper Body Fragments [ 170-2] 3 0 Internal Hollow-Tubular Strengthening Rings [173-5] 30 Bottle Bases with Hollow-Tubular Base-Rings [176-85] 31 Bottles with Gilt Decoration [186] 32 Coloured Bottles [187] 32 Kuttrolf[188] 32 Mould-Blown 33 Bottles with Vertical Ribbing [ 189-96] 3 3 Bottles with Spiral Ribbing [ 197-9] 34 Base Fragments from Ribbed Flasks [200-2] 35 vi A. Catalogue of Vessel Glass Finewares 36 Handled Vessels 36 Free-Blown Jugs [203-7] 36 Mould-Blown Jugs [208-12] 37 Handles [213-19] 37 Spouts [220-1] 39 Wide-Mouthed Vessels 40 Footed Bowls [222-7] 40 Bowls with Pincered 'Toed' Base-Rings
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