Become a Member

Skip to main content
Collections Menu

Artwork

Advanced Search
Museum Purchase: Stark-Willson Collection
Cup
Museum Purchase: Stark-Willson Collection
Contact us at copyright@samuseum.org for rights and reproduction of this image. Photography by Ansen Seale.

Cup

DepartmentAncient Mediterranean Art
CultureRoman
Datelate 1st century B.C.-early 1st century A.D.
MediumGlass
Dimensionsheight: 1 5/8 in. (4.1 cm)
diameter of rim: 3 9/16 in. (9 cm)
diameter of base: 1 5/8 in. (4.2 cm)
Credit LineMuseum Purchase: Stark-Willson Collection
Object number86.138.336
DescriptionCast mosaic glass patella cup of white, amethyst, and turquoise glass; some of the white is now yellowed. Double-convex form with thin, rounded rim, and low, angular, added coil foot. The mosaic glass canes have small white centers, surrounded by turquoise, then amethyst, with a ring of white dots; all within a white field. The rods on the inside are smaller and more regular than those visible on the outside.Label TextThis cup’s intricate patterns were created by a complex, time-consuming technique, known today as “mosaic glass.” Glassmakers first fused colored glass rods into a cane with the desired pattern, creating the circles of purple, white, and blue that appear here. They arranged slices from the cane in the bottom of a mold that was then heated, fusing the glass slices and resulting in the eye-catching design that repeats across the cup’s surface. (J. Powers, 2025)Provenanceby purchase, the Stark family, Orange, Texas, between 1927 and 1929; by bequest, the Nelda C. and H. J. Lutcher Stark Foundation, 1965; by purchase, the San Antonio Museum of Art with funding from Mr. and Mrs. Robert Willson, 1986Exhibition History"From a Fiery Furnace: The Ancient Art of Glassmaking," San Antonio Museum of Art, July 5 - October 12, 2003.

“Mediterráneo—Egipto, Grecia y Roma: Vidrio, Escultura y Relieves de la Antigüedad Clasica,” Museo del Vidrio, Monterrey, Mexico, Apr. 27-Nov. 7, 2004.
On view
Collections
Museum Purchase: Stark-Willson Collection.
Small bottle
6th-8th century A.D.
Museum Purchase: Stark-Willson Collection.
Mosaic Bowl
9th-10th century
Museum Purchase: Stark-Willson Collection.
Cup
Culture: Roman
early 1st century A.D.
San Antonio Museum of Art, Purchased with funds provided by the Grace Fortner Rider Fund.
Perfume or oil bottle
Culture: Egyptian
ca. 1295-1069 B.C.
Gift of Gilbert M. Denman, Jr.
Inlays depicting the Nile god, Hapy
Culture: Egyptian
3rd - 1st century B.C.
Mosaic glass bars with feather patterns
Mosaic glass bars with feather patterns
Culture: Egyptian
3rd-1st century B.C.
San Antonio Museum of Art, gift of Gilbert M. Denman, Jr.
Mosaic depicting a Cupid riding a pair of hippocamps
Culture: Roman
1961-1964, after a Roman mosaic of ca. A.D. 205
Image Not Available for Vase
Vase
Culture: Chinese
1662-1722
San Antonio Museum of Art, purchased with the Grace Fortner Rider Fund.
Hairpin with an ibex-head finial
Culture: Greek
3rd-2nd century BC
Purchased with funds provided by Gilbert M. Denman, Jr.
Plaque depicting a theatrical mask
Culture: Egyptian
1st century B.C.-1st century A.D.
Purchased with funds provided by Gilbert M. Denman, Jr.
Plaque depicting a theatrical mask
Culture: Egyptian
1st century B.C.-1st century A.D.
Museum Purchase: Stark-Willson Collection.
Oil or perfume bottle
Culture: Eastern Mediterranean
2nd-1st century B.C.

The San Antonio Museum of Art is in the process of digitizing its permanent collection. This electronic record was created from historic documentation that does not necessarily reflect SAMA's complete or current knowledge about the object. Review and updating of such records is ongoing.

© 2019 San Antonio Museum of Art. All rights reserved.