Follow-up on a highly bizarre glass inlay described as Romano-Egyptian

[Didier Attaix]

Hello everybody,

You might remember my previous post concerning a very bizarre inlay I bought from Chris Martin in London (chairman of ADA). I painfully restored it correctly, see attached picture below.

I had doubts concerning Chris Martin's description as Romano-Egyptian. Thus, I did contact the Corning glass Museum to get an advice. I am copying their reply below, which clearly indicated that this artefact is not an antiquity:

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Thus, I forwarded this message to Chris Martin, asking for a refund of half my buying price, since I decided to keep this artefact, whatever it is. I was immediately refunded via my PayPal account, as expected, confirming that Chris Martin is highly reliable.

Best,

Didier

[JeandAcre]

Shoot, condolences, @Didier Attaix.  But it's never anything but encouraging when you find dealers whose ethics only surpass their level of expertise (in any given context ...however arcane).

[JAZ Numismatics]

Well the curator didn't say the piece was inauthentic. He shared your suspicions but couldn't confirm without seeing it in person. I know nothing about glass, but in my opinion it bears more research. Nice repair job though!

By the way, if you're ever in upstate New York, the Corning Glass Museum is well worth the visit. We took the kids up there on a road trip once, back in the day. (I do NOT miss driving 5 hours with 4 kids in the car!) The exhibit of Roman glass was particularly interesting to me.

[Didier Attaix]

On 5/10/2024 at 10:42 PM, JeandAcre said:

Shoot, condolences, @Didier Attaix.  But it's never anything but encouraging when you find dealers whose ethics only surpass their level of expertise (in any given context ...however arcane).

No problem, I was refunded of half my buying price as I did ask to Chris Martin. Whatever this artefact is, this is for me a masterpiece, because of this: 

The inlay is not flat as usually, 1. The nose is in relief, 2. The upper face is convex, 3. It is made of two layers of glass, the lower one being translucent, and 4. Six

colours were used: green, black, yellow, orange/red, translucent, the pupils being dark red. L 1.6 cm.

 

[Didier Attaix]

In reply to Jazz numismatics,

I agree that the Corning Museum did not say it was not authentic. But they shared my opinion on this puzzling artefact., which is presumably not Romano-Egyptian. Islamic? possibly. I continue to research on this artefact and will soon contact another American Museum with a superb glass collection. 

I hate buying artefacts that I do not understand, this is for me my very first priority, but unfortunately many collectors do not do this. My second priority is to learn about the technique used, as they are so many!

Best,

Didier