Replica of an Ancient Roman Glass millefiori bowl

Probable reproduction of a Roman millefiori bowl, a type of decorative glass whose technique directly recalls the workshops of Hellenistic and early Roman times, especially between the 1st century BCE and the 1st century CE.

Shallow hemispherical-profile vessel, whose shape suggests a bowl or patera for both utilitarian and ornamental use.

The most striking feature is its surface completely covered by a complex vitreous pattern, in which the tones prevail:

* Golden yellows
* Opaque whites
* Warm hues evoking honey, amber and filtered sunlight

These colors are not painted, but integrated into the glass mass, the result of the millefiori technique (literally, “thousand flowers”).

The decoration is achieved using multicolored glass rods (canes) prepared beforehand. These rods are cut into cross-sections and laid out in mosaic and fused into a single surface

In this piece, the motifs do not form defined flowers, but an organic and almost cellular lattice, with irregular, branched shapes that recall natural structures such as corals, lichens or biological tissues

This suggests a more abstract variant within millefiori, possibly inspired by Roman models where the visual effect dominated over figuration.

The rim of the bowl is well defined, slightly lighter, which frames the composition as if it were a luminous disc.

Historical-artistic context: Millefiori was a highly valued technique in the Roman world, inherited from Alexandrian workshops. These pieces were luxury objects, associated with urban elites and frequently imitations of work in hard stone or mosaic.

Spanish private collection in the 1980s (reproduction)