About this objectThese two blue glass beakers were found in the tomb at Prittlewell [EXH121] in eastern England. They were probably made locally as a matching pair for the tomb occupant: they are of a rare type and almost all such glass in Britain is found in high-status burials such as this. There were also two small jars made of green glass.
The materials for such soda-lime-silica glass are found worldwide—basically melted sand with the addition of an alkaline to lower the melting temperature and lime to make the glass harder and non-water soluble. Glass is also often recyled. The blue colour, which is often found in Roman glass, comes from the addition of cobalt oxide and copper oxide. The glass bowl was blown with the lattice decoration added later.
Date Made6th c.
PeriodAnglo-Saxon
Place MadeEngland
Subject and Association KeywordsDeath and burials
Subject and Association KeywordsGlass
Subject and Association DescriptionLearn More: Freestone, Hughes and Stapleton 2008; Hirst and Scull 2019:
