Reflecting Antiquity explores the rediscovery of Roman glass and its influence on modern glass production. It brings together 112 objects from more than 24 lenders, featuring ancient Roman originals as well as the modern replicas they inspired. Following are some of the highlights on view in the exhibition.

Portland Vase Base Disk The Portland Vase is the most important and famous work of cameo glass to have survived from ancient Rome. Modern analysis of the vase, with special attention to the elongation of the bubbles preserved in the lower body, suggest that it was originally shaped as an amphora (storage vessel) with a pointed base. At some point in antiquity, the vessel suffered some damage and acquired this replacement disk. The male figure and the foliage on the disk were not carved by the same Unknown artist that created the mythological frieze on the vase. Wearing a Phrygian cap Portland Vase Base Disk Roman, 25 B.C.–A.D. 25 and pointing to his mouth in a gesture of uncertainty, the young man is Paris, a Glass Object: Diam.: 12.2 cm (4 13/16 in.) prince of Troy who chose Aphrodite over Hera and Athena as the most beautiful British Museum. London, England GR1945.9-27.2 goddess on Mount Olympus. It is clear from the way the image is truncated that VEX.2007.3.1 it was cut from a larger composition, presumably depicting the Judgment of Paris.

The Great Tazza A masterpiece of cameo-glass carving, this footed bowl (tazza) consists of five layers of glass: semiopaque green encased in opaque white, green, a second white, and pink. After unwanted glass was removed by dipping the blank (uncarved vessel) in acid, the layers were carved by a team of craftsmen directed by George Woodall. The design was inspired by patterns found in the 1867 publication Example of Chinese Ornament by Owen Jones (Welsh, 1809–1874). Production on the vessel began in 1886, but it was not completed until 1889.

George Woodall English, 1850–1925 For Thomas Webb & SonsIGJHI$]dg^odciVa#Zeh English, 1837–1856 The Great Tazza, about 1889 Glass Object: H: 38.9 x Diam.: 47 cm (15 5/16 x 18 1/2 in.) Bequest of Juliette K. Rakow, The Corning Museum of Glass. Corning, New York 92.2.8 I]Z?#EVja

Moretti Gold Band Skyphos Compagnia di Venezia e Murano This cup is a replica of a fragmentary piece in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Italian, active 1866–1909 Moretti Gold Band Skyphos, 1878 The bowlI]Z?# EandVja

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Decorated by Phillipe-Joseph Brocard French, about 1840–1896 Broacard Mosque Lamp, 1860–1880 Glass, enamel, and gilding Object: 31.7 x 24 cm (12 1/2 x 9 7/16 in.) Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Appleton, The Corning Museum of Glass. Corning, New York 78.3.16 VEX.2007.3.59

Lycurgus Cup The most celebrated example of an ancient cage cup, this ovoid glass vessel appears to be green in reflected light and red in transmitted light. Calleddichroic , this type of glass changes color due to the presence of minute amounts of gold, silver, or manganese in its composition. The cup depicts the myth of Lycurgus, a Thracian king who intruded upon the secret rituals of the wine god Bacchus and his followers. The king was punished for his impiety when Ambrosia, a maenad, turned into a grapevine and strangled him. The scenic elements were created by wheel-cutting into a thick cast cup and are linked to the inner body of the vessel by a series of struts. The metal mounts on the rim and foot were added for stability in the nineteenth century. The vessel was first published in 1845 and was exhibited at the South Kensington Museum (now the Victoria and Albert) Unknown Lycurgus cup in 1862. Roman, 4th centurty A.D. Glass Object: H: 16.5 x Diam. (rim): 13.2 cm (6 1/2 x 5 3/16 in.) British Museum. London, England 1958, 1202.1 VEX.2007.3.9

Vienna Cage Cup Discovered in Croatia in1795, this Roman cage cup is cut with a network of interlocking circles, and its rim is carved with a Latin inscription that reads: “to those who favor” (that is, “to our protectors”). This design, combining an inscription with a network pattern, is known from other ancient examples. Most others were made from multiple colors of glass: the interior cup was intentionally decolorized by the addition of manganese, while two colors were used on the Unknown Vienna Cage Cup exterior, one for the inscription at the rim and another for the pattern below. Roman, 4th century A.D. Glass Object: H: 9.5 x Diam.: 8.9 cm (3 3/4 x 3 1/2 in.) Kunsthistorisches Museum, Antikensammlung. Vienna, Austria Xla 186 VEX.2007.3.106

Corning Cage Cup The metal collar and three perforated flanges around the rim of this hemispherical cage cup indicate that it was meant to be suspended. While the function of such vessels is unknown, similar objects served as hanging lamps during the Byzantine period. If this cage cup were hung as a lamp, its network pattern would have been reflected on the floor of the room it illuminated.

Unknown Corning Cage Cup Roman, 4th century A.D. Glass, copper alloy Object: H: 7.4 x Diam.: 12.2 cm (4 13/16 in.) Object: H: 0.5 x D: 0.1 x Diam.: 11 cm (3/16 x 1/16 x 4 5/16 in.) Hook and Loop: H: 17 cm (6 11/16 in.) Purchased with funds from the Arthur Rubloff Residuary Trust, The Corning Museum of Glass. Corning, New York 87.1.1 VEX.2007.3.45