Early Christian period

Chapter 17
The Production and Glass working (Pl. 1)
The presence of glass workshops has been archaeologically

Uses of Glass in attested in Thessaloniki during the Roman imperial period,

especially in its later stages. These workshops, just like other

Byzantine Thessaloniki installations that used naked lames, were obliged to be

either outside the city walls or at the city’s perimeter.1
Although glass-working remains have been found in
Thessaloniki’s eastern necropolis, they have also been
Anastassios Antonaras identiied within the city walls, in abandoned public spaces
such as the public bath house on top of which the mid-5th
century Acheiropoietos basilica was erected, and on the site
of the ancient Forum, where after the 5th and certainly
during the 7th century artisans, potters, tanners, and metal
smiths founded their workshops.2 Several forms of vessels
have been attributed to these local workshops. It seems that
a few forms of unguentaria were already manufactured here
in the late 1st century,3 while in the 4th and 5th centuries,
several forms of unguentaria, tableware, jugs, bottles, bowls
and beakers, as well as lamps were produced in Thessaloniki
(Pl. 2).4

Jewellery
With regards to non-vessel glass products made in
Thessaloniki during the Early Christian period, glass was
used for the production of complete pieces of jewellery or for
the embellishment of metal objects. The majority of inds
from the city can be dated from the late 3rd to the 6th
century5 and is comprised of pendants, beads both large and
small – occasionally decorated, often plain – and spacers
(Pls 3–4). A few ‘black’, mainly plain or occasionally
ribbed, glass bracelets appear after the 3rd century, most
probably imitating jet prototypes which were very much in
fashion during the succeeding century. 6 Although almost no
glass rings occur, glass pastes, almost exclusively plain ones,
are found quite often both in cheaper and more expensive
jewellery (Pl. 5). In addition, enamelling is sporadically
found among the inds.7

Window panes
Unlike at other Macedonian sites, such as Philippi,8 the use
of glass window panes in Thessaloniki is rarely attested.
Those few inds can be dated approximately to the 4th
century,9 and were manufactured either by the muf process
or the cylinder technique.

Mosaics

Mosaic pavements
The similarities among mosaic pavements in their overall
decorative display, in their particular motifs, and in their
technique has lead to the assumption that there was a
workshop of mosaicists in Thessaloniki, which most
probably began to work on the buildings of the Emperor
Galerius (r. ad 305–11) and established a tradition that
continued throughout the 4th and into the early 5th
century.10 As for the use of glass tesserae, one observes in the
few extant, mainly stone mosaic pavements of public
buildings and private houses, that mainly light green, and

The Production and Uses of Glass in Byzantine Thessaloniki | 189

Plate 1 Glass vessels from Thessaloniki, 3rd–5th century. Museum of Byzantine Culture, Thessaloniki

Plate 2 (left) Local products of Thessaloniki’s glass workshops, 4th–6th century

Plate 3 (above left) Glass beads, 4th century. Museum of Byzantine Culture,
Thessaloniki

Plate 4 (above right) Glass and stone necklace, 3rd–4th century. Museum of
Byzantine Culture, Thessaloniki

less often yellow, green, orange, and red were only semicircular apse to the east side of the building. It may
occasionally used in very small numbers from the 4th to the possibly have been already decorated with mosaics as early
late 6th century.11 as the reign of Constantine the Great (r. ad 306–37).14
The lower part, up to the base of the dome, was covered
Wall mosaics with a multi-coloured marble revetment. The upper part of
Thousands of square metres of wall mosaics have been the building was covered with mosaics dated to the 4th
preserved in the Rotunda, the basilicas of the Acheiropoietos century. The execution of the mosaics was uniform in
and St Demetrios and the Latomou Monastery, as well as in conception and design. For the compilation of the mosaics,
other buildings,12 which quite probably represent a fraction blue, turquoise, yellow, green, red, purple, gold and silver
of the wall mosaics which once existed in Thessaloniki. An
overview of works dating from the early 4th to the 7th Plate 5 Gold ring with enamel, irst half of the 4th century. Museum
century is preserved in them, representing an expressive of Byzantine Culture, Thessaloniki
idealistic naturalism in the early ones that gradually
becomes more rigid with fewer nuances employed in the
rendering of the comparatively simple and well-deined
motifs.

The Rotunda13
The Rotunda is a vaulted building erected about ad 300 by
the Caesar Galerius, as part of his palace, probably as a
temple to his patron Zeus. It was converted into a Christian
church at an early stage, probably by the time of Theodosius
(r. ad 379–95), by adding a large barrel-vault and a

190 | New Light on Old Glass

 24 or more igures survive on a green ground. The centre of
the dome bore a representation of Christ in glory supported
by four angels. The heads, hands and wings of three angels,
the mythical phoenix and the aureole survive. Of the
standing igure of Christ all that remains is the ingers of his
right hand, part of his halo and the initial charcoal
underdrawing on the masonry.

The Acheiropoietos16
The three-aisled mid-5th century basilica, which is today
known as the Acheiropoietos, is decorated with 5th-century
mosaics in the soits of the colonnades on the ground loor
and in the south gallery, on the western wall of the south
gallery, on the tribelon arches, on the arches in the narthex,
in the triple window in the west wall of the narthex and on
the western wall of the southern chapel. The decorative
subjects tend to be symbols or allegories of the Christian
paradise and the triumph of Christianity. The mosaics are
characterized by the lifelike portrayal of the natural motifs
Plate 6 Detail of a martyr
from the dome of the
depicted in them. Blue, turquoise, peacock blue, ‘black’,
Rotunda, Thessaloniki, 4th yellow, green, red, purple, gold, and silver glass tesserae were
century used, along with amber, beige, olive green-beige and white
stone ones.
glass tesserae were used along with grey and white stone On a gold ground, leafy branches, aquatic lowers and
ones. At a rough estimate, 13 tons of glass was used in the leaves, vines, and wreaths emerge from vases at the bases of
mosaic decoration.15 the soits (Pl. 7). The wreaths encircle a Christogram or a
Three of the large lower barrel vaults are decorated with cross in an aureole, a circle or a disc. These representations
geometric patterns containing vases with fruits or lowers, are supplemented by birds, books, and vessels containing
birds and fruits, a wide ield with a gold Latin cross on a ish or fruit. There is also a certain amount of geometrical
silver ield strewn with birds, stars and baskets with fruit. At decoration, either combined with birds and pomegranates,
the arched openings at the base of the dome, lowers, fruit, or in the form of repeated motifs covering the whole of the
intersecting circles, fretwork, ish-scale patterns, and available surface, like a ish-scale pattern, polygons or
interlacing chain motifs are depicted. interlacing bands.
The decoration of the dome is divided into three
concentric bands. The lower, which is the best preserved, is Latomou monastery17
divided into eight panels with a shared theme: a variety of The small church of St David was originally the katholikon
elaborate architectural structures are placed against a gold of Latomou or the Latomon monastery constructed at the
background. In front of each panel two or three martyrs end of the 5th or the beginning of the 6th century. It is a
stand frontally accompanied by his name, status and the square building, whose west side is now ruined, with an apse
month of his feast (Pl. 6). The second and third bands are at the east end. The semi-dome of the apse bears a mosaic
almost completely obliterated. On the lower part of the representation of the Vision of Ezekiel, a unique position for
middle band, sandaled feet or the traces of feet of probably a theme of this nature. Christ Emmanuel is depicted in glory

Plate 7 Detail of loral mosaic, Church of the Acheiropoietos, Thessaloniki, 5th century

The Production and Uses of Glass in Byzantine Thessaloniki | 191

Plate 8 Detail of Christ, Latomou Plate 9 Detail of angels trumpeting above Plate 10 Detail of St Demetrios with clerics
Monastery, Thessaloniki, late 5th–early 6th St Demetrios, Church of St Demetrios, and St Sergios, Church of St Demetrios,
century Thessaloniki, 5th century Thessaloniki, 7th century

seated upon a multi-coloured arc (Pl. 8). Around the aureole destroyed by ire in 1917. The same ire destroyed all the
are the symbols of the four Evangelists: an angel, eagle, lion mosaics which decorated the south face of the small north
and calf. In the left-hand corner the dumbfounded Prophet colonnade, some of which are preserved and exhibited in the
Ezekiel is portrayed on the banks of the River Chebar; its Museum of Byzantine Culture in Thessaloniki. Eleven
tributaries are the four rivers of Eden, all lowing from the panels of mosaics from the rest of the church survived,
feet of Christ. The Prophet Habakkuk, or possibly Isaiah, is dating from the 5th to the 9th century. They are to be seen
in the right-hand corner. The composition is inscribed with on the east façade of the wall dividing the narthex from the
a double band: a narrow interior one with a gold chain naos and on the two large sanctuary piers.
connecting oval and square gems, and an outer, wider one Parts of two 5th-century panels are preserved on the
illed with palms and vessels lanked by swans. Dark blue, upper part of the west wall. On the south aisle is the
blue, turquoise, yellow, green, olive green, red, orange, dedication of two children to a devotional icon of the saint
purple, gold and silver glass tesserae were used in the and, on the north aisle, two angels trumpeting above the
composition, along with white, grey, and beige stone ones. saint (Pl. 9). Geometrical and loral motives are also
The mosaic is dated to the end of the 5th or the beginning of preserved on the inner half of the arches of the windows of
the 6th century. the western wall of the narthex, within the original glazing.
From the 7th century, mosaics are preserved on the west wall
Agios Demetrios18 of the nave, in the sanctuary, and on the two large sanctuary
This ive-aisled basilica with transept, originally built in the piers presenting St Demetrios alone, with children, clerics
5th and renewed in the 7th century, was almost entirely and city oicials, and St Sergios (Pl. 10). On the south face

Plate 11 Gold glass tiles from the Church of St Demetrios,

Thessaloniki, 6th–7th century. Museum of Byzantine Plate 12 Gold glass tiles, Church of St Demetrios, Thessaloniki, 6th–7th
Culture, Thessaloniki century

192 | New Light on Old Glass

 Plate 13 (above left) Glass crustae, Church of St Demetrios, Thessaloniki, 5th
century

Plate 14 (above right) Middle Byzantine glass-working remains from

Dioiketeriou Square, Thessaloniki. Museum of Byzantine Culture,
Thessaloniki

Plate 15 (left) Middle Byzantine glass-working remains from 2 Agapis Street,

Thessaloniki. Museum of Byzantine Culture, Thessaloniki

of the north-east pier there is a votive mosaic depicting the workshops have been uncovered. The irst, whose kiln has
Virgin Mary orans with a warrior saint, probably Theodore. been excavated, is to the south-west of the basilica of St
In the upper part of the picture is a bust of Christ blessing. Demetrios and was apparently producing vessels including
This mosaic is dated to the 9th century. stemmed beakers and probably hanging lamps (Pl. 14).20
Blue, turquoise, lavender, yellow, green, olive-green, The excavation of the second workshop, which was located
khaki, red, gold, and silver glass tesserae were used in the just to the north-east of St Sophia, produced only small
construction of the mosaics, along with white, beige, pinkish inds. Among the deformed masses a few more interesting
beige and grey stone ones. It should also be noted that the items have been found: small parts of blue ‘cakes’ (c. 2cm
plaster behind and among the gold tesserae was painted with thick) for the production of mosaic tesserae, colourless green
an intense red colour. Glass has also been used for the wall and yellowish tesserae, obviously meant to be covered with
decoration in the form of opus sectilia. Large triangular gold gold or silver foil, and opaque green, turquoise, dark blue
glass tiles, one with a curved stripe, and a few rectangular and purple/brown ones have been found on site. Even more
ones are preserved (Pls 11–12). They were probably used on interesting are the later inds: dark blue, thin (c. 1cm) tiles, cut
the arches in the interior of the colonnades, still partly visible into squares while still hot, and decorated on both sides with
in the tribellum from the narthex to the main church, or on curved colourless stripes. Partly preserved circular tiles
a lat wall. This type of decoration is generally dated to the decorated with opaque red stripes were also found (Pl. 15).21
6th century and here it seems to represent one more example Nothing similar exists in the surviving monuments of
of the conservatism generally characteristic of 7th-century Thessaloniki, Mount Athos, and to the best of my
church decoration. Finally, lat pieces of greenish glass, cut knowledge, elsewhere. With regard to vessel glass from the
in the appropriate forms, were also used as insets in the site, stemmed beakers with solid stems and attached bases
multi-coloured marble opus sectile decoration of the church, are recognizable.22
on the western wall of the central aisle, which is dated to the
5th century (Pl. 13). Jewellery
Glass bracelets have been found in the Middle Byzantine
Middle Byzantine period layers in Thessaloniki. Although they are not found in large
quantities, all the known cross-sections of seamed bracelets,
Glass working circular, semicircular, band-like and plano-convex ones are
There are very few Middle Byzantine glass vessels from known (Pls 16–17). The vast majority appear to be black
Thessaloniki and only a few pieces of glass jewellery but are in fact made of dark green, dark blue or dark purple
consisting of simple beads and glass bangles. Yet glass glass. Sometimes they are twisted and/or decorated with
working is one of the few artisanal activities that has been ine threads of glass of a diferent, striking colour.23 Painted
archaeologically attested in Thessaloniki. In the centre of examples are very few, unlike the inds from the city’s
the city, and contrary to legislation,19 at least two glass hinterland. Glass rings and glass gems for jewellery and

The Production and Uses of Glass in Byzantine Thessaloniki | 193

Plate 16 Silver-stained glass bracelet, 10th century. Museum of Plate 17 Glass bracelets, 10th–12th century. Museum of Byzantine
Byzantine Culture, Thessaloniki Culture, Thessaloniki

Plate 18 Copper-alloy earrings with glass beads, 10th–12th century. Plate 19 Gold bracelets with cloisonné enamel, 9th–10th century.
Museum of Byzantine Culture, Thessaloniki Museum of Byzantine Culture, Thessaloniki

other precious objects are not present among the inds. Beads, inscription. Originally a large cross was depicted in the apse;
at least plain, globular, monochrome ones were constantly in faint traces of the ends of its arms are discernible at the level
use, either in strands as necklaces, or independently as an of the Virgin Mary’s shoulders and above her halo. The
additional embellishment of metal jewellery such as earrings cross was replaced by a representation of the Virgin Mary
(Pl. 18). Enamel is occasionally present in the form of enthroned with Christ. It is not known exactly when this was
cloisonné. In the extant examples opaque white, red, done, but no doubt sometime after the end of the
turquoise and blue glass was used (Pl. 19).24 Iconoclastic period (ad 843). In the 11th or 12th century the
representation of the Virgin Mary was destroyed from the
Window glass waist upwards, and the ruined part was replaced.
Changes in architectural forms led to the alteration of The dome is decorated with a scene of the Ascension.
windows which became far smaller and fewer than in the Along the bottom of the representation runs a decorative
Early Christian period. These windows were covered with band containing two inscriptions. It is generally accepted
marble or stucco frames in which small pieces of coloured that the mosaics were executed around ad 885. In the centre
glass were inserted.25 No historical building in Thessaloniki of the dome, within a glory supported by two hovering
preserves its original glazing and no inds from the angels, Christ is portrayed seated upon a rainbow. The
excavations could be connected with the buildings of this Virgin Mary orans is depicted in the lower zone lanked by
period. palm trees and two angels who address the apostles. The
scene takes place on the Mount of Olives, indicated by the
Wall mosaics olive trees surrounding the apostles and the rocky ground
upon which they stand (Pl. 20).
St Sophia26 In all three groups of mosaics, dark blue, blue, turquoise,
This 8th-century cross-domed church preserves mosaics yellow, green, olive green, red, orange, gold and silver glass
from three distinct periods. The barrel vault over the tesserae were used along with white, grey, black, pinkish red
sanctuary is decorated with mosaics with the founders’ and beige stone tesserae.
inscriptions above the cornice. These are written on a
narrow gold band dating the mosaic to the ad 790s. Above Late Byzantine period
these is a grid of squares illed with plain leaves and silver-
gemmed crosses and inally on the keystone of the barrel- Glass working
vault, is a multi-coloured glory in the form of a large gold No archaeological remains of Palaeologan glass workshops
cross outlined in red with rays of light streaming from it. have been unearthed in Thessaloniki. However, the size of
On the narrow front of the arch between the sanctuary the city, the volume of goods transported from its harbour,
barrel vault and the semi-dome of the apse there is an and the large number of people with industrial and

194 | New Light on Old Glass

 Plate 20 Detail of apostle,
Church of St Sophia, Plate 21 Glass lasks, 14th century. Museum of Byzantine Culture,
Thessaloniki, 9th century Thessaloniki

commercial concerns who lived there render quite

unbelievable the hypothesis that no glass workshops, either
for vessels or for lat glass, were active in the city. The fact is
that among the movable inds from the excavations
conducted in Thessaloniki, many bottles have been found.
They are quite diverse and can mainly be ascribed to major
glass-working centres such as Venice or Syria (Pl. 21).27
There are some though that could be considered as local
products since they cannot be connected with any other
major glass centre’s traditional style. Several examples are
found including small, slightly clumsy, receptacles made of
bluish glass and which are probably the ones known from
15th-century sources as perfume holders or containers of St Plate 22 Glass vials, 13th–15th century. Museum of Byzantine
Demetrios’ myrrh (Pl. 22).28 Culture, Thessaloniki

Jewellery mosaics.30 The upper part of its central area is decorated

Glass gems and beads were still used by jewellers and were with mosaics which have only partly survived as the gold
possibly manufactured in the city, while glass bangles tesserae used for the backgrounds were removed probably
gradually disappear after the middle of the 13th century. when the church was plastered. The mosaics, executed
Small twisted bangles with a circular cross-section prevail during the patriarchate of Niphon (1312–15) who was the
among the later examples. According to the few extant donor of the church, are the last Byzantine mosaics
examples, pulverized glass, mainly blue, red and white, surviving in Thessaloniki.
continued to be used throughout the Late Byzantine period They are arranged according to the iconographic
for the enamelling of jewellery, for instance on earrings (Pl. programme established in that period and make use of all
23). Pulverized glass was also used for the embellishment of the available surfaces. At the top of the dome is a bust of the
the metal revetments of the wooden icons that were Pantocrator, with ten prophets arranged on the drum of the
produced in Palaeologan Thessaloniki. dome, and the four Evangelists in the pendentives. The rest
of the mosaics depict the Twelve Great Feasts, only nine of
Window glass which survive (Pl. 24). The remaining narrow spaces were
No window glass that can be securely attributed to this illed in with holy igures. All the representations are framed
period has been preserved. According to the surviving with bands of skillfully executed vegetal and geometrical
marble and stucco frames of churches dated to this period,
small pieces of coloured (?) glass must have been used to ill
the openings, while crown glass could have also been used in
some cases for the central parts of the frames.29

Mosaics

Wall mosaics
Plate 23 Copper-alloy
Aghioi Apostoloi earring or temple pendant
with enamelling, 13th–15th
The Church of the Holy Apostles, a cross-in-square century. Museum of
katholikon of a monastery built between 1312 and 1315, is the Byzantine Culture,
single standing Palaeologan building decorated with Thessaloniki

The Production and Uses of Glass in Byzantine Thessaloniki | 195

 production of wall mosaic tesserae was considerable
throughout this period; the local production of tesserae and
opus sectile tiles, at least during the late Middle Byzantine
period, has been archaeologically detected.
Finally, no Late Byzantine glass-working remains have
been uncovered, although the number of vessels used
appears to increase remarkably in comparison to the earlier
periods. The need for window glass continued to diminish,
while wall mosaics, although present in the city in at least
two 14th-century churches, represent a real rarity that was
to be forgotten in the city until the second half of the 20th
century.

Plate 24 Detail showing Notes

the Entry into 1 K. Armenopoulos, Πρόχειρον Νόμων ή εξάβιβλος, επιμ.
Jerusalem, Church of Κωνσταντίνος Πιτσάκης, Athens, 1971, II.Δ’.19, 117–18.
Aghioi Apostoloi, Legislation that was in use throughout the Byzantine period and
Thessaloniki, 1312–15 preserved in the 14th-century work of Armenopoulos speciies that
glassworkers should not work within cities. In some cases, despite
motifs. Blue, turquoise, yellow, green, red, pinkish red, gold the law, if there was a need for installation within the city walls,
and silver glass tesserae were used along with white and grey then their workshops had to be erected in uninhabited parts of the
city because they were a constant cause of disturbance to the
stone ones. inhabitants and a high ire risk.
2 A. Antonaras, Ρωμαϊκή και παλαιοχριστιανική Υαλουργία.
Anonymous church on Armatolon Street Αγγεία από τη Θεσσαλονίκη και την περιοχή της, Athens,
The only other extant example of Palaeologan mosaics in 2009, 61–75; A. Antonaras, ‘Υαλοποιία και υαλουργία στο
ρωμαϊκό και παλαιοχριστιανικό κόσμο. Υαλουργική
Thessaloniki containing glass tesserae come from the area of
δραστηριότητα στη Θεσσαλονίκη’, Αρχαιολογικόν Δελτίον
an anonymous Late Byzantine church. They were found Μελέτες 57, 2002 (2010), 237–60. Another Early Byzantine glass
detached from the walls in the rubble and it has been workshop has been excavated recently in the centre of the city at 45
suspected that they were brought onto the site from another Vasileos Irakleiou Street; this will be published by the author.
nearby ecclesiastical building.31 3 A. Antonaras, ‘Early Christian and Byzantine glass vessels: forms
and uses’, in F. Daim and J. Drauschke (eds), Byzanz - das Römerreich
im Mittelalter, Teil. 1 Welt der Ideen, Welt der Dinge, Darmstadt, 2010,
Mosaic icons 383–430.
Finally, two mosaic icons, which are partly made of glass 4 Antonaras 2009 (n. 2), 75–84; A. Antonaras, ‘Production and
tesserae and are stylistically connected to the art of distribution of glass objects in Late Antique Thessaloniki (3rd–7th
c. A.D.)’, in Round Table: L’artisanat grec: Approches méthodologiques et
Thessaloniki, also demonstrate another way in which glass perspectives, Ecole française d’Athènes, 4–7 October 2007, in press; A.
was employed in the city: the icon of St John the Evangelist Antonaras, ‘Glass working activities in Late Roman-Early
at the Great Lavra is connected with the 14th-century Christian Thessaloniki. Local workshops and vessels’, in J.
painting of Thessaloniki,32 and the icon of St Demetrios with Drauschke and D. Keller (eds), Glass in Byzantium. Production, Usage,
a koutrouvion on it, which has a silver revetment of a Analyses (International Workshop organized by the Byzantine
Archaeology Mainz, 17 and 18 January 2008 Römisch-
Thessalonian type and is considered to be from Germanisches Zentralmuseum), Mainz, 2010, 93–105; A.
Thessaloniki, a work possibly meant for wealthy pilgrims to Antonaras, ‘Glass doves and globes from Thessaloniki. North
the shrine of the saint.33 Italian imports or local products?’, Quaderni Friulani di Archeologia 19,
Atti dell convegno INTORNO ALL’ADRIATICO. Trieste – Piran 30–1
maggio (2009), 27–33.
Conclusion 5 For jewellery in the Late Antique city see: S. Pelekanidis, ‘The gold
During the Early Christian period glass was widely used in Byzantine jewellery of Thessaloniki’, Δελτίον Χριστιανικής
the production of vessels, tableware, lamps and unguentaria, Αρχαιολογικής Εταιρείας περ. Δ- τ. ‘Α’ (1959), 55–71; N.D.
as well as in the production and embellishment of jewellery. Makropoulou, ‘Κοσμήματα από τον 3ο έως τον 6ο αι. μ.Χ. από
ανασκαφές της Θεσσαλονίκης. Συμβολή στη μελέτη της
Huge amounts of glass were applied in the decoration of the
παλαιοχριστιανικής αργυροχρυσοχοϊας’, Θεσσαλονικέων
city’s churches and secular buildings throughout this period, Πόλις 3 (1997), 56–69; N. D. Makropoulou, ‘Παλαιοχριστιανικά
while a considerable amount of glass was used for glazing κοσμήματα από τη Θεσσαλονίκη’, in 230 Συμπόσιο Βυζαντινής
both public and private buildings. The most recent inds και Μεταβυζαντινής Αρχαιολογίας και Τέχνης της Χ.Α.Ε.,
ascribed to local workshops are exclusively simple utilitarian Πρόγραμμα περιλήψεων εισηγήσεων και ανακοινώσεων,
Athens, 2003, 61–2. For a thorough overview of Early Christian
vessels, plain or simply inscribed, free- and mould-blown glass jewellery found in Thessaloniki see: A. Antonaras, ‘Glassware
ones. in Late Antique Thessalonikē’, in L. Nasrallah, Ch. Bakirtzis and
During the Middle Byzantine period the number of glass S.J. Friesen (eds), From Roman to Early Christian Thessalonikē. Studies in
vessels found in the city diminished, although a glass Religion and Archaeolog y. A Conference on Religion and
Archaeology, Harvard Divinity School, May 10–14, 2007,
workshop producing vessels has been unearthed. In
Cambridge (MA), 2010, 301–34.
addition, glass continued to be used in the production and 6 D. Nalpantis, Ανασκαφή στο οικόπεδο του Μουσείου
the embellishment of jewellery. Furthermore, requirements Βυζαντινού Πολιτισμού στη Θεσσαλονίκη, Athens, 2003, 35,
for window glass due to changes in architectural styles were 133, drawing 10, tab 45, jet bracelet from a grave of the irst half of
considerably reduced. Lastly, the use of glass in the the 4th century; Antonaras (n. 5).

196 | New Light on Old Glass

7 A. Antonaras, in A. Tsakalos (ed.), Enamels. Colour in the Course of la date des mosaïques d’Acheiropoietos à Thessalonique’, Atti del IX
Time (exh. cat., Byzantine and Christian Museum 21 December congresso internationale di archeologia cristiana, Roma 1975, II, Rome,
2007–17 February 2008), Athens, 2008, 49, 51–2; Antonaras (n. 5). 1978, 37–44; E. Kourkoutidou-Nikolaidou, Αχειροποίητος, ο
8 S. Pelekanidis, ‘Η εκτός των τειχών παλαιοχριστιανική μεγάλος ναός της Θεοτόκου, Thessaloniki, 1989; Kourkoutidou-
βασιλική των Φιλίππων’, Αρχαιολογικόν Έργον 1955 (1961), Nikolaidou and Tourta (n. 13), 185–95.
114–79, reprinted in S. Pelekanidis, Μελέτες παλαιοχριστιανικής 17 A. Xyngopoulos, ‘Το καθολικόν της Μονής Λατόμου εν
και βυζαντινής αρχαιολογίας, Thessaloniki, 1977, 333–95; Θεσσαλονίκη και το εν αυτό ψηφιδωτόν’, Αρχαιολογικόν
E. Kourkoutidou-Nikolaidou, ‘Vitraux paléochrétiens à Philippes’, Δελτίον 12 (1929), 142–80; F. Gerke, ‘Il mosaico absidale di Hosios
Corsi di cultura sull’arte ravennate e bizantina XXXI (1984), 277–96; David in Salonicco’, Corsi di Cultura sull’arte ravennate e bizantina 11
A. Antonaras, ‘Early Christian glass inds from the Museum (1964), 179–99; N. Gioles, ‘Εικονογραφικές παρατηρήσεις στο
Basilica, Philippi’, Journal of Glass Studies 49 (2007), 47–56, μωσαϊκό της Μονής Λατόμου στη Θεσσαλονίκη’, Παρουσία 2
ig. 2. (1984), 83–94; J.-M. Spieser, ‘Remarques complémentaires sur la
9 A. Romiopoulou, ‘Νοσοκομείο ΑΧΕΠΑ’, Αρχαιολογικόν mosaïque de Osios David’, Διεθνές Συμπόσιο: Βυζαντινή
Δελτίον 31 (B2) (1976), 241–2, pl. 194a, where considerable Μακεδονία 324–1430 μ.Χ., Thessaloniki, 1995, 295–306;
quantities of window glass were found in the debris of a 3rd- Kourkoutidou-Nikolaidou and Tourta (n. 13), 91–9.
century bath house, possibly part of a Roman villa. Also, 18 G.A. Sotiriou and M.G. Sotiriou, Η Βασιλική του Αγίου
similar unpublished material has been unearthed in the Roman Δημητρίου Θεσσαλονίκης (Εν Αθήναις Αρχαιολογι κή
villa under Galerius’ palace, dated to the second half of the 3rd Εταιρεία, 34), 2 vols, Athens, 1952, passim; R.S. Cormack, ‘The
century. I express my thanks to the excavator of the site, Mrs M. mosaic decoration of S. Demetrios, Thessaloniki. A re-
Karaberi, for sharing this information with me. examination in the light of the drawings of W.S. George’, Annual of
10 P. Asimakopoulou-Atzaka, ‘Τα παλαιοχριστιανικά ψηφιδωτά the British School at Athens 64 (1969), 16–52; A. Xyngopoulos, Τα
δάπεδα του ανατολικού Ιλλυρικού’, Actes du Xe Congrès international ψηφιδωτά του ναού του Αγίου Δημητρίου Θεσσαλονίκης,
d’archéologie chrétienne. Thessalonique 28–9/4–10 1980, vol. I, Thessaloniki, 1969; Th. Papazotos, ‘Το ψηφιδωτό των
Thessalonique/Città del Vaticano, Thessaloniki, 1984, 364–444, esp. κτητόρων του Αγίου Δημητρίου Θεσσαλονίκης’, Αφιέρωμα
407–8; eadem, Σύνταγμα των παλαιοχριστιανικών στη μνήμη Στυλιανού Πελεκανίδη, Thessaloniki, 1983, 365–75;
ψηφιδωτών δαπέδων της Ελλάδος. ΙΙΙ. Μακεδονία Θράκη. 1. Τα X. Bakirtzis, Η βασιλική του Αγίου Δημητρίου, Thessaloniki,
ψηφιδωτά δάπεδα της Θεσσαλονίκης, Thessaloniki, 1998, 112–13. 1986.
11 A rich villa urbana at 7 Lapithon Street dated to the second half of 19 Armenopoulos (n. 1), 117–18.
the 5th century by Asimakopoulou-Atzaka 1998 (n. 10), 258–9. 20 I.O. Kanonidis, ‘Ανασκαφή εργαστηρίου υαλουργίας στην
Glass tesserae are used only in the octagonal frames with Πλατεία Διοικητηρίου της Θεσσαλονίκης’, in P. Themelis (ed.),
zoomorphic depictions; a monumental corridor in the eastern Το γυαλί από την αρχαιότητα έως σήμερα, B’ Συνέδριο
necropolis in the cemetery of Evangelistria is dated to the irst half Μαργαριτών Μυλοποτάμου Ρεθύμνης Κρήτης, Μαργαρίτες
of the 6th century (ibid., 154, 263–4, pl. 187, XLVII, XLVIII); also Μυλοποτάμου, 26–28 Σεπτεμβρίου 1997, Athens, 2002, 143–53.
a church at the intersection of Ag. Demetriou and Langada Street 21 D. Papanikola-Bakirtzi (ed.), Everyday Life in Byzantium, Byzantine
where some green and blue glass tesserae were used has been Hours. Works and Days in Byzantium (exh. cat., Thessaloniki, White
dated to the last quarter of the 5th to the irst half of the 6th Tower, October 2001–January 2002), Athens, 2002, 119–20, no.
century (ibid., 262); a wealthy household at 90 Kassandrou Street 115a, dated generally in the Middle Byzantine period. For the
where yellow, green, orange, and red glass tesserae were used in excavation see: I.O. Kanonides, ‘Οδός Αγάπης 3’,
the central room of the western part of the house (ibid., 234–6, Αρχαιολογικόν Δελτίον 51 (1996), 490–3.
dated probably to the end of the 4th century); a large building at 22 Cf. G. Davidson, Corinth: Results of Excavations conducted by the
24 Palaion Patron Germanou Street had greenish-light blue American School of Classical Studies at Athens, Volume XII, The Minor
tesserae from its earliest phase of construction which predates the Objects, Princeton, N.J., 1952, 110, nos 712–14; Antonaras (n. 3), ig.
4th century (ibid., 341). 40, vessel, lower row, left end.
12 E.g. a circular building in the upper part of the city at 6–12 Aiolou 23 A. Antonaras, ‘Γυάλινα μεσοβυζαντινά βραχιόλια. Συμβολή σε
Street, 9th Ephoreia: see, 9η Εφορεία Βυζαντινών Αρχαιοτήτων θέματα διάδοσης, παραγωγής, τυπολογίας και χρήσης’,
Θεσσαλονίκης, Σωστικές Ανασκαφές 2003, Λουτρά Παράδεισος Δελτίον Χριστιανικής Αρχαιολογικής Εταιρείας, π. Δ’, τ. ΚΖ’
(Μπέη Χαμάμ), Thessaloniki, 2004, 8. (2006), 423–34.
13 H. Torp, Mosaikkene i St. Georgs rotunden i Thessaloniki. Et hovedver I 24 Pelekanidis (n. 8), 333–95. For colour representations see: A.
tidlig-Byzantisk Kunst, Oslo, 1983; E. Kleinbauer, ‘The iconography Antonaras in R. Cormack and M. Vassilaki (eds), Byzantium
and the date of the mosaics of the Rotunda of Hagios Georgios, 330–1453 (exh. cat., Royal Academy of Arts, London, 25 October
Thessaloniki’, Viator 3 (1972), 27–107; M. Sotiriou, ‘Προβλήματα 2008–22 March 2009), London, 2008, 182.
της εικονογραφίας του τρούλλου του ναού του Αγίου 25 On the Middle Byzantine churches of the city see: S. Ćurčić,
Γεωργίου Θεσσαλονίκης’, Δελτίον Χριστιανικής Architecture in the Balkans from Diocletian to Süleyman the Magniicent,
Αρχαιολογικής Εταιρείας, περ. Δ- τ. ΣΤ’, (1970–2), 191–204; G. New Haven and London, 2010, 277–80, 369–73.
Gounaris, ‘Οι τοιχογραφίες του τάφου αρ. 18 της Θεολογικής 26 S. Pelekanidis, ‘I mosaici di Santa Sophia di Salonicco’, Corsi di
σχολής του Α.Π.Θ’, Εγνατία 2 (1990), 201–26; E. Kourkoutidou- cultura sull’arte ravennate e bizantina 11 (1964), 337–49; S. Pelekanidis,
Nikolaidou and A. Tourta, Περίπατοι στη βυζαντινή ‘Bemerkungen zu den Altarmosaiken der Hagia Sophia zu
Θεσσαλονίκη, Athens, 1997, 48–69. Thessaloniki und die Frage der Datierung der Platytera’,
14 Ch. Bakirtzis and P. Mastora, ‘Are the mosaics in the Rotunda in Βυζαντινά 5 (1973), 29–40; R. Cormack, ‘The apse mosaics of S.
Thessaloniki linked to its conversion to a Christian Church?’, in 9. Sophia at Thessaloniki’, Δελτίον Χριστιανικής Αρχαιολογικής
Međunarodni naučni skup NIŠ I VIZANTIJA (3-5.6.) – U susret Εταιρείας περ. Δ’ – τ. 1 (1980–1), 111–35; Ch. Bakirtzis, ‘Νεώτερες
obeležavanju godišnjice Milanskog edikta/9th International Symposium “Nis παρατηρήσεις στην κτιτορική επιγραφή του τρούλλου της
i Vizantija” (3–5 June 2010): Towards the Celebration of the Edict of Milan Αγίας Σοφίας Θεσσαλονίκης’, Βυζαντινά 11 (1978), 167–80; X.
Anniversary, in print. Mavropoulou-Tsioumi, ‘Η ζωγραφική στη Θεσσαλονίκη τον
15 An average tessera weighs c. 1–1.5g, covering 0.7–0.9 sq.cm. If we 9ο αι’, Πρακτικά Συνεδρίου προς τιμήν και μνήμην των
add the seam around each one of them, we see that they cover c. 1 Αγίων αυταδέλφων Κυρίλλου και Μεθοδίου των
sq.cm with c. 1.2g of glass. Thus for every square metre of mosaic Θεσσαλονικέων, φωτιστών των Σλάβων’, Θεσσαλονίκη 1
approximately 12 kilos of glass were needed. The Rotunda’s wall (1986), 393–410.
mosaics would originally have covered c. 1414 sq. meters. If we 27 On a special form of lentoid lask see: A.C. Antonaras, ‘Venetian
multiply this by 12, we arrive at around 17 tons of tesserae for the glass pilgrim vessels found in Thessaloniki’, in 15th International
Rotunda’s decoration, of which glass should be roughly 13 tons. Congress of the International Association for the History of Glass, New York,
16 A. Xyngopoulos, ‘Περί την Αχειροποίητον Θεσσαλονίκης’, Corning, N.Y., 2001, 199–202. For a general overview of glass
Μακεδονικά 2 (1947–52), 472–87; Ch. Bakirtzis, ‘Sur le donateur et vessels see, Antonaras (n. 3), 408–22.

The Production and Uses of Glass in Byzantine Thessaloniki | 197

28 O. Papazotos, ‘Μερικές πληροφορίες για τη Θεσσαλονίκη από 31 A ind from a rescue excavation esp.14–16 Armatolon Street: see 9η
τον J. Van Ghistele (1483)’, Ιστορικογεωγραφικά 5 (1995), 51–6. Εφορεία Βυζαντινών Αρχαιοτήτων Θεσσαλονίκης, Σωστικές
29 An unpublished part of a mortar window closure from the Church Ανασκαφές 2004, Λουτρά Παράδεισος (Μπέη Χαμάμ),
of Saint Panteleemon that preserved small fragments of purple Thessaloniki, 2005, 5.
glass is kept in the Museum of Byzantine Culture. Also, similar 32 K. Loverdou-Tsigarida, ‘Thessalonique, centre de production
inds from Agios Demetrios of an unknown date are exhibited in d’objets d’arts au XIV siècle’, Dumbarton Oaks Papers 57 (2003),
the crypt of the church. Generally, on the Late Byzantine churches 241–54, esp. 251, ig. 17; M. Chatzidakis, ‘Une icône en mosaïque de
of the city see, Ćurčić (n. 25), 545–59. Lavra’, Jahrbuch der Österreichischen Byzantinistik 21 (1972), 71–83.
30 See, N. Nikonanos, The Church of the Holy Apostles in Thessaloniki, 33 Loverdou-Tsigarida (n. 32), 247–8, ig. 7. It is dated to the second
Thessaloniki, 1986; ODB, 940–1. half of the 14th century and belonged to Cardinal Bessarion.

198 | New Light on Old Glass

New Light on Old
Glass: Recent
Research on
Byzantine Mosaics
and Glass
Edited by Chris Entwistle
and Liz James
In memoriam
Daniel Thomas Howells (1984–2011)

Publishers
The British Museum
Great Russell Street
London WC1B 3DG

Editor
Sarah Faulks

Distributors
The British Museum Press
38 Russell Square
London WC1B 3QQ

New Light on Old Glass:

Recent Research on Byzantine Mosaics and Glass
Edited by Chris Entwistle and Liz James

isbn 978 086159 179 4

issn 1747 3640

© The Trustees of the British Museum 2013

Front cover: The Lycurgus cup in transmitted light,

4th century. British Museum, London (PE 1958,1202.1)

Printed and bound in Hong Kong by Printing Express Ltd

The papers used by the British Museum Press are recyclable

products and the manufacturing processes are expected to
conform to the environmental regulations of the country of
origin.

All British Museum images illustrated in this book are

© The Trustees of the British Museum.

Further information about the Museum and its collection

can be found at britishmuseum.org.
Contents Preface v

Contributors vi

Illustration Acknowledgements ix

1. Glass Mosaic Tesserae from the 5th to 6th Century 1

Baptistery of San Giovanni alle Fonti, Milan, Italy
Analytical Investigations
Elisabetta Neri, Marco Verità and Alberto Conventi

2. Glass Tesserae from the Petra Church 11

Fatma Marii

3. Studies in Middle Byzantine Glass Mosaics 25

from Amorium
Hanna Witte

4. Mosaic Tesserae from the Basilica of San Severo 33

and Glass Production in Classe, Ravenna, Italy
Cesare Fiori

5. The Observation and Conservation of Mosaics 42

in Ravenna in the 5th and 6th Centuries
Cetty Muscolino

6. A Quest for Wisdom 53

The 6th-century Mosaics of Hagia Sophia and Late
Antique Aesthetics
Nadine Schibille

7. Mosaics and Materials 60

Mosaics from the 5th and 6th Centuries in Ravenna and Poreč
Claudia Tedeschi

8. A Study of Glass Tesserae from Mosaics in the 70

Monasteries of Daphni and Hosios Loukas
Rossella Arletti

9. Notes on the Morphology of the Gold Glass 76

Tesserae from Daphni Monastery
Polytimi Loukopoulou and Antonia Moropoulou

10. Glass Producers in Late Antique and Byzantine 82

Texts and Papyri
E. Marianne Stern

11. On the Manufacture of Diatreta and Cage Cups 89

from the Pharos Beaker to the Lycurgus Cup
Rosemarie Lierke

12. The Lycurgus Cup 103

Jaś Elsner
13. Making Late Antique Gold Glass 112 23. Viewing the Mosaics of the Monasteries of 242
Daniel Thomas Howells Hosios Loukas, Daphni and the Church of Santa
Maria Assunta, Torcello
14. Gold Glass in Late Antiquity 121 Robin Cormack
Scientiic Analysis of the British Museum Collection
Andrew Meek 24. The Abbot Philotheos, Founder of the 254
Katholikon of Hosios Loukas
15. Late Antique Glass Pendants in the 131 Old and New Observations
British Museum Nano Chatzidakis
Chris Entwistle and Paul Corby Finney (with an appendix by
Philip Fletcher) 25. Recording Byzantine Mosaics in 19th-century 260
Greece
16. A Scientiic Study of Late Antique Glass 178 The Case of the Byzantine Research Fund (BRF) Archive
Pendants in the British Museum Dimitra Kotoula (with a contribution from Amalia G. Kakissis)
Stefan Röhrs, Andrew Meek and Chris Entwistle
26. The Christ Head at the Metropolitan Museum 271
17. The Production and Uses of Glass in Byzantine 189 of Art, New York, the Apse in the Bode Museum,
Thessaloniki Berlin, and Other Fake Mosaics
Anastassios Antonaras Irina Andreescu-Treadgold

18. ‘To Beautify Small Things’ 199 27. Alexandria on the Barada 291
Minutiae and Majesty in the Mosaics of Parentium The Mosaics of the Great Mosque in Damascus
Ann Terry Judith S. McKenzie

19. Experiencing the Light 207 28. Mosaics by Numbers 310

Byzantine Church Window Glass and the Aesthetics Some Preliminary Evidence from the Leverhulme Database
of Worship Liz James, Emőke Soproni and Bente Bjørnholt
Claire Nesbitt
29. Early Islamic and Byzantine Silver Stain 329
20. New Light on the ‘Bright Ages’ 217 Lisa Pilosi and David Whitehouse
Experiments with Mosaics and Light in Medieval Rome
Claudia Bolgia 30. Victorian or Justinianic? Painter or Practitioner? 338
In Situ or Reverse?
21. The Absence of Glass 229 The Mosaicing of Westminster Cathedral
Talking about the Mosaics at Porta Panagia in Thessaly, Paul Bentley
Greece
Maria Vassilaki Glossary 350

22. Borders of Experimentalism 234

Glass in the Frame of the Genoa Mandylion
Francesca Dell’Acqua