Glass home: Roman glass: Pillar-moulded bowls.

Pillar-moulded bowls

(50 - 100)

These distinctive ribbed bowls were not blown, but made by a casting process. The exact process is unknown, but experiments have shown a possible method, known as 'sagging'. Hot glass is pressed under a flat disc with radial slots in it, producing a ribbed glass 'pancake'. The 'pancake' is then laid over a convex mould and heated slowly. As the temperature rises, the glass 'sags' and takes on the shape of the mould. Upon cooling, the bowl is lifted off, ground and polished.

Pillar-moulded bowls arrived in Britain immediately after the Conquest in AD43, and were manufactured until the end of the 1st century AD. Some remained in use in the early 2nd century. They were thus one of the only categories of mass-produced cast glass to survive the 'glassblowing revolution'.

Sherds are durable and easy to distinguish from blown, ribbed fragments. The surface is matt, rather than shiny, and the rib is on the outer surface only. Ribs produced by blown, optic-moulding can be detected on both surfaces.

Pillar-moulded bowls range from around 100 to 200mm in diameter. Both shallow and deep shapes are known. The Museum's collection includes some sherds from monochrome blue or amber vessels, but most are in self-coloured glass.

Related objects

There are 167 related objects.

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87.122/5 bowl; pillar-moulded bowl. 1-70	2428 bowl; pillar-moulded bowl. 1-70	2423 bowl; pillar-moulded bowl. 1-70	14529 bowl; pillar-moulded bowl. 1-70
2421 bowl; pillar-moulded bowl. 1-70	2422 bowl; pillar-moulded bowl. 1-70	2424 bowl; pillar-moulded bowl. 1-70	2425 bowl; pillar-moulded bowl. 1-70
14513 bowl; pillar-moulded bowl. 1-70	14528 bowl; pillar-moulded bowl. 1-70	A16373 bowl; pillar-moulded bowl. 1-70	A16374 bowl; pillar-moulded bowl. 1-70
2406b bowl; pillar-moulded bowl. 1-70	2498 bowl; pillar-moulded bowl. Late Iron Age-Roman; early 1st century	14496 bowl; pillar-moulded bowl. Late Iron Age-Roman; early 1st century	16929 bowl; pillar-moulded bowl. Late Iron Age-Roman; early 1st century
A13722 bowl; pillar-moulded bowl. Late Iron Age-Roman; early 1st century	A25748 bowl; pillar-moulded bowl. Late Iron Age-Roman; early 1st century	16927 bowl; pillar-moulded bowl. Late Iron Age-Roman; early 1st century	16925 bowl; pillar-moulded bowl. Late Iron Age-Roman; early 1st century
78.67/1 bowl; pillar-moulded bowl. Roman	87.122/1 bowl; pillar-moulded bowl. Roman; mid-late 1st century	89.321/9 bowl; pillar-moulded bowl. Roman; mid-late 1st century	2390 bowl; pillar-moulded bowl. Roman; mid-late 1st century

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