Object Image

Millefiori bowl

The term millefiori (“thousand flowers”) describes modern Italian imitations of ancient Roman mosaic glass. Multicolored glass rods, known as canes, are cut into slices, with the design revealed in the cross section. These are fused together to form the bowl and create the delicate pattern seen here.

Credit: Gift of James Jackson Jarves, 1881

c. 1880

Glass

8.3 x 12.7 cm

81.8.212

Image and text © Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2019

Where you'll find this

The Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Permanent collection