Verre byzantin et islamiqueByzantine and Islamic Glass
Maria Mossakowska-Gaubert
ANTONARAS, Anastasios
The Use of Glass in Byzantine Jewellery - the Evidence from Northern Greece (fourth-sixteenth Centuries)
Annales du 16e Congrès de l'Association Internationale pour l'Histoire du Verre (London 2003)
AIHV, Nottingham, 2003, p. 331-334
Museum of Byzantine Culture (Thessaloniki)
[301, 1600]
estampé impressed filets marbrés marvered trails lustré stained, lustre-painted mosaïqué mosaic peint painted
• Archaeological evidence of glass jewellery - objects from graves:
- Thessaloniki necropolis;
- cemetery in the complex of the basilica of the Philippi Museum;
- cemetery in the fortress of Rentina;
- Maronia’s Palichora necropolis;
- Pherres necropolis;
- cemetery of the basilica of Ayios Achilleios;
- Thermi necropolis.
• 4th-6th centuries:
– Beds:
- monochrome (especially dark blue or green);
- multicoloured, with specks or trails;
- mosaic (rare).
– Amulets:
- stamped representation of lion with the sun and moon over its head - Syro-Palestinian tradition;
- stamped representation of Saint Symeon the Stylite flanked by two figures of angels.
– Bracelets:
- dark purple or green;
- cross-sections : circular, semi-circular, flat band-like;
- techniques : seamed and seamless examples;
- decoration : plain or relief decoration (ribbing).
– Gems.
• 7th-12th centuries:
– Beds:
- necklaces made of plain spherical beads (rare).
– Rings:
- glass rings (rare);
- metal rings with glass gems in the bezel:
1. bezel with a piece of flat, transparent, greenish or pinkish glass roughly cut,
2. bezel with lentoid gems:
plain (especially dark-blue glass),
with impressed decoration (especially dark-blue glass).
– Bracelets:
- techniques: only seamed examples;
- decoration:
twisted of one cane or of two or more canes of different colour and size,
canes of various colours applied on straight, non-twisted bangles,
painted decoration (examples of silver stain technique) on plain-glass bracelets: birds, geometric and floral motifs.
– Armbands:
- golden armbands decorated with the motifs made by inlaid enamel obtained from pulverized glass set in design fields and frited: “cloisonné” technique (two examples in the Museum of Byzantine Culture).
– Glass used in the adornment of the offical clothes and holy book bindings - iconographical evidence.
• 13th-16th centuries:
– Beds:
- necklaces made of annular and circular in section beads or of plain spherical beads.
– Earrings:
- glass gems used in the embellishment (rare);
- cubic glass pieces (like mosaic) used in the decoration (example in the Museum of Byzantine Culture).
– Rings:
- metal rings with glass gems in the bezel.
– Bracelets (rare):
- decoration:
with twisted white stripe,
plain surface,
twisted.
– Glass used in the adornment of the official clothes:
- remains of dress decorated with 1400 glass beads of three kinds (example in the Museum of Byzantine Culture).
- Thessaloniki necropolis;
- cemetery in the complex of the basilica of the Philippi Museum;
- cemetery in the fortress of Rentina;
- Maronia’s Palichora necropolis;
- Pherres necropolis;
- cemetery of the basilica of Ayios Achilleios;
- Thermi necropolis.
• 4th-6th centuries:
– Beds:
- monochrome (especially dark blue or green);
- multicoloured, with specks or trails;
- mosaic (rare).
– Amulets:
- stamped representation of lion with the sun and moon over its head - Syro-Palestinian tradition;
- stamped representation of Saint Symeon the Stylite flanked by two figures of angels.
– Bracelets:
- dark purple or green;
- cross-sections : circular, semi-circular, flat band-like;
- techniques : seamed and seamless examples;
- decoration : plain or relief decoration (ribbing).
– Gems.
• 7th-12th centuries:
– Beds:
- necklaces made of plain spherical beads (rare).
– Rings:
- glass rings (rare);
- metal rings with glass gems in the bezel:
1. bezel with a piece of flat, transparent, greenish or pinkish glass roughly cut,
2. bezel with lentoid gems:
plain (especially dark-blue glass),
with impressed decoration (especially dark-blue glass).
– Bracelets:
- techniques: only seamed examples;
- decoration:
twisted of one cane or of two or more canes of different colour and size,
canes of various colours applied on straight, non-twisted bangles,
painted decoration (examples of silver stain technique) on plain-glass bracelets: birds, geometric and floral motifs.
– Armbands:
- golden armbands decorated with the motifs made by inlaid enamel obtained from pulverized glass set in design fields and frited: “cloisonné” technique (two examples in the Museum of Byzantine Culture).
– Glass used in the adornment of the offical clothes and holy book bindings - iconographical evidence.
• 13th-16th centuries:
– Beds:
- necklaces made of annular and circular in section beads or of plain spherical beads.
– Earrings:
- glass gems used in the embellishment (rare);
- cubic glass pieces (like mosaic) used in the decoration (example in the Museum of Byzantine Culture).
– Rings:
- metal rings with glass gems in the bezel.
– Bracelets (rare):
- decoration:
with twisted white stripe,
plain surface,
twisted.
– Glass used in the adornment of the official clothes:
- remains of dress decorated with 1400 glass beads of three kinds (example in the Museum of Byzantine Culture).
Version 5, données dudata date 30 janvier 2013January 30th 2013