Fish

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The Art & Architecture Thesaurus (AAT) (r) is a structured vocabulary for generic concepts related to art and architecture. It was developed by The Getty Research Institute to help research institutions become consistent in the terminology they use.Learn More

Object Name: 
Fish
Place Made: 
probably Eastern Mediterranean
Accession Number: 
55.1.5
Dimensions: 
Overall (including fins) H: 4.9 cm, L: 16 cm, Th: 2.5 cm
Location: 
On Display
Date: 
1-99 or later
Web Description: 
This piece was created in the Eastern Mediterranean during the Roman Empire. Glassmaking techniques are used to craft its delicate marbled pattern. With an opaque, red base color and trails of white, yellow, and green, the complex decoration and the combination of glassblowing as well as sculpting are a testament to the craftsmanship and experimental spirit of the maker. This bottle was likely used to store perfume. We can imagine it sitting on a table, attracting the attention of its owner with its eye-catching characteristics.

More Info

Department: 
Ancient
Provenance: 
Smith, Ray Winfield (American, 1897-1982), Source
1955-04-19
Category: 
Roman
Color: 
red
light green
opaque white glass
Technique: 
glassblowing
applied decoration
Material: 
glass

Description

Primary Description: 
Base glass apparently opaque red, trails appear to be white, yellow, and green, perhaps all opaque, possibly with additional colors; blown, trails applied to parison, which was then marvered and inflated to full size, additional trails added. Long and narrow fish with posterior part of body and tail curving to left. Body has scales represented by spirally would trails of white, yellow, and perhaps green, which were dragged to create “feathered” effect and marvered. All other details were added after body had assumed final size. Head had eyes indicated by small blobs (missing but indicated by scars) and has thick white lips, with open mouth made by piercing lips and base glass with rod (D. 0.3 cm), and white and green gills; dorsal and anal fins are long white trails, which have been pinched into series of projections; pelvic fin is represented by pinched white blob; white trail applied to end of tail, which was then pinched to close original opening at point of attachment to blowpipe.

Exhibitions (4)

Crafting Connections: Our Relationship with Handheld Glass
Venue(s)
Corning Museum of Glass 2021-07-31 through 2022-05-16
The Junior Curators are a team of inquisitive local students who collaborate with each other and Museum staff to create an annual exhibition. Adapting to the new normal of interacting solely in a virtual environment, they used digital images of objects and other online resources to explore their love of glass. This year’s Junior Curators are the first group in 63 years of the Museum’s program to complete their entire project remotely. This year’s exhibition, Crafting Connections: Our Relationship with Handheld Glass, inspires guests to consider their relationships with personal objects and their connections to people across time and place. Tangible objects can communicate intangible feelings that connect us with family, friends, and cultures across different places, transcending time. Small enough to be held, the objects on display invite closer inspection. They can inspire us to consider our own relationships with personal objects in new ways. Meet the 2021 Junior Curators Amanda Bansil Madelyn Beale Madelyn Collier Teagan Crum Elana Drew Yule Fu Karin Hoover Ashti Tiwari
Poseidon and the Sea: Myth, Cult, and Daily Life
Venue(s)
Joslyn Art Museum 2014-02-08 through 2014-05-11
Tampa Museum of Art 2014-06-14 through 2014-11-30
Hood Museum of Art 2015-01-17 through 2015-03-15
The realm of Poseidon, the Greek god of the sea, encompassed virtually every aspect of life in the ancient Mediterranean world, from mythology and cult to daily activities. Each of these three domains will be explored in the exhibition, which will be the first of its type anywhere. The exhibition will offer an intimate look at the timeliness, beauty and wonder of marine life sure to resonate with lay visitors of all ages. All of the CMoG objects would be displayed in the final section of the exhibition, showing the influence of the sea in ancient art and life.
 
Glass from the Ancient World
Venue(s)
Corning Museum of Glass 1957-06-04 through 1957-09-15
Verres Antiques de la Collection R.W. Smith
Venue(s)
Musee de Mariemont 1954 through 1954
 

Publications (4)

Poseidon and the Sea (2014) illustrated, p. 151, Fig. 75; BIB# 134837
Roman Glass in The Corning Museum of Glass, Volume Two (2001) p. 210, pl. 774; BIB# 58895
Glass from the Ancient World: The Ray Winfield Smith Collection (1957) illustrated, pp. 162-163, #334; BIB# 27315
Catalogue des Verres Antiques de la Collection Ray Winfield Smith (1954) illustrated, p. 18, #48, pl. XII; BIB# 28196