Roman glasses – the keg bottle
The Roman Shop is widening its range of products to include the Roman keg. Much to the delight of the Roman Shop team, the glass department is expanding.
Here we present our new addition, the Roman keg; an essential item for any collection. Just like all Roman glasses, the Roman keg is handmade in a glass blowing oven, replicating an original antique.
A twentieth century glass blower was inspired to make this attractive keg after looking at page 106 of the volume ‘Roman glass art and graffiti,’ published by Phillip von Zabern.
Only around 17 glass kegs of this type, produced both with and without handles, exist worldwide.
Similar pieces can be found in the art museum in Dusseldorf and in the Lücker collection in Cologne.
- Approx. 18.5cm in height
- The attractive keg is 8 cm in diameter
1st to 4th century – production timeframe for the Roman keg
Between the first and fourth centuries AD this style of keg was primarily made by Roman glass blowers in the Rheinland and Gaul. The body of the Roman keg is the shape of a wooden wine keg with extensive fluting above and below.
They were blown into a shape consisting of two sections with a base plate. Often the base plate bore the name Frontinius and, for this reason, they were also known as Frontinius kegs.
Many have signatures on the bottom that allow conclusions to be drawn about the producer. The name often starts Fe or Fecit, which corresponds to ‘produced by.’
Fronti, Fonti and Frontinius – names found on the exterior of the Roman keg
There was a production site for such kegs on the land of the former Villa Rustica, an ancient Roman estate in the Hammerbach forest. The names on the exterior give a clue as to the identity of the producer. They were also found in France, Britain and the Rheinland. The oldest discovery dates from around 100 years AD in the Netherlands. They were produced in various sizes, from 9 to 24cm in height.
An elegant addition to a Roman table – the Roman keg
Expand your collection of Roman glasses by acquiring the Roman keg and use it as an elegant addition to a Roman table!
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