Fragment with Birds and Fruits

Object Name: 
Fragment with Birds and Fruits

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Object Name: 
Fragment with Birds and Fruits
Accession Number: 
66.1.57
Dimensions: 
Overall H: 4.9 cm, W: 3.5 cm
Location: 
On Display
Date: 
1-75
Primary Description: 
Opaque white over translucent deep blue glass; blown, cased, cut and ground (cameo technique). Fragment from wall of cup; decorated in high relief (up to 0.6 cm) with garlands composed of branches with leaves and fruits of various species, including oak; among the garlands, two birds (both incomplete) feed on the fruits; one bird has the head and beak completely separated from the background by undercutting.
Department: 
Provenance: 
Sangiorgi, Sergio (Italian), Source
1966
Sangiorgi, Giorgio (Italian, 1886-1965), Former Collection
Category: 
Cameo Glass: Masterpieces from 2000 Years of Glassmaking
Venue(s)
Corning Museum of Glass 1982-05-01 through 1982-10-31
Cameo glass, one of the most costly and difficult decorating techniques since first century B.C., is documented and illustrated in this catalog. Included are examples from Rome, Islam, and China, as well as English 19th-century masterpieces by John Northwood and George Woodall among others. For the purposes of this catalog, the term “cameo glass” is used to refer to cased glass objects with two or more differently colored layers. The outer layer is usually an opaque or opalescent white, and the outer layer or layers have been carved in to leave the decoration standing in relief against a body of contrasting color. Shading is produced by thinning down the carved layer; highlights are created where the glass is left thickest. Both this catalog, and the exhibition for which it was created, documents the 2000-year cameo glass tradition.
Cage Cups: Late Roman Luxury Glasses (2015) illustrated, p. 21; BIB# 146773
Roman Glass in The Corning Museum of Glass, Volume One (1997) p. 63, #71; p. 330, #71; BIB# 58895
The Portland Vase (1990) illustrated, p. 165, fig. 130; BIB# AI74242
Cameo Glass: Masterpieces from 2000 Years of Glassmaking (1982) illustrated, pp. 22, 100, #7; BIB# 30609