Reflections and Points of Interest

Glass jug with chain handle, Roman, 3rd century AD

Gold brooch, Langobardic, circa 600 AD

Etruscan cista handle depicting Sleep and Death carrying the body of Sarpedon, a son of Zeus. He fought alongside Troy in the Trojan War and was killed by Patroclus.

Based on Homer's Iliad:

Then Sleep and Death, two twins of winged race, Of matchless swiftness, but of silent pace, Received Sarpedon, at the god’s command, And in a moment reach’d the Lycian land; The corse amidst his weeping friends they laid, Where endless honours wait the sacred shade. Homer's Iliad, Book XVI (translated by Alexander Pope)

400 - 375 BCE

Roman ring with the inscription VTERE FELIX GELAS VIVASE AMERISA NOBIS

100 - 200 CE

The Lycurgus Cup, probably made in Rome, 300s CE

This remarkable cup is the only complete example of a very special type of glass, known as dichroic, which changes colour when held up to the light