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Stone emulated in glass: an alabastrum and a glass similis, both from Hispania

Some instances of stone imitating glass are known from panels of opus sectile and wallrevetments; there are also some instances of pottery imitation of stone in the Early Empire, but the stone vessels are rare.1 This could be due to the fact that they are little known because many stone vessels entered collections in the 17th-18th c. while others ended up in cathedrals, thanks to the Crusaders or imperial munificence. An undetermined number may have been traded on the antiquities’ markets or amongst private collectors. A good instance is the treasure of Lorenzo the Magnificent, whose vessels underwent numerous vicissitudes, passing from one treasury to another and from one collection to another, as a result of which they were hard to trace;2 this only added to the complexity of dating vessels that lack a context and after they had been re-used. Under Rome, a large part of their production must have been absorbed by the imperial family and those close to them. Considered royal or imperial gifts, they belong to an exclusive sphere. Only a few pieces can have circulated amongst private owners (cf. the ones at Pompeii and Herculaneum3 or at Begram in Afghanistan4). Still, we must also take into consideration the existence of unclassified or misclassified fragments deriving mainly from old excavations. A similar pattern holds, for example, with labra,5 references to which were very scarce until A. Ambrogi’s publication of 2005.6 Small stone containers may also have fragmented, which may contribute to them not being recognised as manufactured pieces.