Glass mosaic inlay
Unknown Artist
Translucent blue ground; decoration in opaque white, yellow, and red, and translucent purple, appearing black.
Polygonal, flat, and very thin plaque.
Symmetrical ivy leaf and palmette motif arranged on a square frame around a central compressed design, with a palmette with spiral volutes below on sides of square and ivy leaves in solid white at corners.
Broken across middle with almost half of motif missing; upper and underside and edge ground and polished; pitted surface bubbles.
The inlay is made from two sections cut from the same cane of mosaic glass, with decoration appearing in mirror image.
Fragment of blue hexagon, backed on double thickness of colorless; many colored flowers.
Credit: Gift of J. Pierpont Morgan, 1917
Late 1st century B.C.–early 1st century A.D.
Glass; cast
3.2 x 3.2cm
17.194.394
Image and text © Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2018
Where you'll find this
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Permanent collection