ANCIENT ROMAN GROUP OF FIVE GLASS BANGLES
Late Roman, Ca. 300-500 AD.
A group of five glass bracelets (also referred to as bangles) comprising monochrome glass strains bent into a loop. Colours in this group include: 1) black, 2) blue. Glass bracelets were an important dress accessory worn in the Roman Empire, and to judge from finds in graves, were primarily worn by women and children (and to a lesser extent by men). These versatile objects might also have been used to adorn women's elaborate hairstyles and/or to decorate horses. Glass bangles had a long lifespan and were also worn in the Middle Ages under Rome's successor state, the Byzantine Empire, where women often wore dresses which revealed their arms, making bracelets an especially appropriate accessory choice.
Size: L:63.5-70.2mm / W:64.5-71.7mm ; 73.19g
Provenance: Property of a West London gentleman; previously in a collection formed on the UK/International art market since the 1970s.
Estimate: GBP 150 - 300