characteristic
The vase is 24.5cm in height and 17.7cm in maximum width. The vase is blown from deep cobalt blue glass, and the glass is covered with an opaque white shell glass. Then remove a large area of white glass to expose the blue layer below. Leave white fields and carve them into relief to describe the scene. The decorative style makes scholars trace this work back to the reign of Augustus (27 BC-AD 14). The details of the decorative scene can be compared with the highest quality Roman cut gems, so it must be the work of a talented gemstone cutter or diatretarius.
This double-handle binaural bottle is incomplete because it has lost the bottom of the tip and the mouth of the container has been cut unevenly. The base was restored with similar colored discs, and Paris was carved and depicted in the same style. Although it is remarkable that such exquisite objects survived from ancient times, this vase is not unique, because a similar vase was found in Pompeii, dating back to the middle of A.D. 1 century, depicting the scene of grape harvest. However, these relief vessels are regarded as some kind of experiment of Roman glassware, which was carried out in a limited period of only two generations, so it is almost certain that they have not been mass-produced.
Decorative scene
The scene on the vase is divided into two parts by a bearded head (possibly with horns), one for each handle. There are four characters in the first scene, including a young man leaving the rural shrine in a cloak. The man took the arm of a woman sitting half naked on the ground and stroked the snake-like animal with rapt attention. Above the woman is Cupid flying, holding his usual bow and torch in his right hand. On the right is a bearded man, standing between two trees, holding his chin in his hand, thoughtfully.
The second scene on the other side of the vase is three people sitting on a stone with a tree in the background. On the left is a young man, next to a pillar or a pillar, and in the middle is a young woman with her arm on her head and a torch hanging on the ground. On the far right is another woman in a long skirt, holding a scepter or scepter in her left hand.
The exact meaning of these scenes is uncertain, but it is widely speculated that the wedding of thetis and peleus is taking place in Greek mythology. Other explanations include the dream of Olympias, the mother of Alexander the Great. This will make the reclining female images Olympias, Zeus, the father of Alexander the Snake and the young man leaving the temple become Alexander in two scenes. Another explanation is the similar story of Julia mamie and the Roman emperor Alexander Severus. Finally, it was suggested that marc anthony and Cleopatra be shown with the goddess of love, while the opposite scene was that Augustus comforted Octavia and Venus watched.
Later history
This vase was found in a funeral monument in Rome in the16th century. At first people thought it came from a marble sarcophagus with Alexander Severus's body-now this statement is considered wrong. It is almost certain that this vase has been polished since it was first discovered, and the scene may even be redesigned. After many changes of owners-including the Ba Bei Lini family, whose name is related to the vase-it was acquired by the famous antique collector, the Duchess of Portland, in A.D. 1784. This vase has always been famous, but it became even more famous after josiah wedgwood copied several pieces of black and light blue jasper in A.D. 1786. 18 10, the Fourth Duke of Portland lent this vase to the British Museum in London for permanent exhibition.
Portland vases always seem to be safe. However, in A.D. 1845, a drunken paranoid tourist inexplicably took away an exhibition of stone carvings and threw it on a glass cabinet with vases. The ship was smashed into more than 80 pieces. John Doubleday immediately restored it, which only added mystery and fame to the vase. The British Museum bought this vase directly in A.D. 1945, and it has been demolished and repaired twice since then, and the last time was in A.D. 1989.