Portland Vase

Common card · No. 242607

The Portland Vase is a Roman cameo glass vase, which dates between AD 1 and AD 25, though low BC dates have some scholarly support. It is the best known piece of Roman cameo glass and has served as an inspiration to many glass and porcelain makers from about the beginning of the 18th century onwards. It was first recorded in Rome in 1600–1601, and since 1810 has been in the British Museum in London. The museum held it on loan from the dukes of Portland until 1945, and bought it from them that year (GR 1945,0927.1). It is normally on display in Room 70. The vase measures about 25 centimetres (9.8 in) high and 18 cm (7.1 in) in diameter. It is made of violet-blue glass, and surrounded with a single continuous white glass cameo making two distinct scenes, depicting seven human figures, plus a large snake, and two bearded and horned heads below the handles, marking the break between the scenes. The bottom of the vase was a cameo glass disc, also in blue and white, showing a head, presumed to...

Read on Wikipedia · Image Unknown artistUnknown artist, CC BY 2.5