Photograph by Ed Pollard, Canon EOS 5D Mark II digital slr-2013.

Eye

Artist Unknown

CultureEgyptian

DatePtolemaic-Roman Period, 3rd century B.C.E.-1st century C.E., 299 B.C.-99 A.D.

MediumCast glass

Dimensions7/8 × 2 1/4 in. (2.2 × 5.7 cm)

Credit LineGift of the Board of Trustees in honor of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr. on his 75th birthday

Object number84.170

Collections

Ancient Mediterranean Art

On View

Chrysler Museum of Art, Gallery 116-1, Case 1

DescriptionThis piece is an example of cast-glass eye inlays decorated human-shaped coffins, funerary masks, and statues in ancient Egypt to give them a more lifelike appearance. The indigo-blue glass outlining the eye imitates lapis lazuli. The eye was cast in an open mold (probably stone or ceramic) and then finished by grinding, cutting, and polishing. This method of producing small glass objects was first introduced around 2500 BCE, and it remained in use even after the fall of the New Kingdom (1085 BCE) stalled most glass activities.
Label TextEgyptian Eye, 3rd century B.C.E.-1st century C.E. Cast glass, ground and polished Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, VA Gift of the Board of Trustees in honor of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr. on his 75th birthday. 84.170Published ReferencesGoldstein, _Pre-Roman & Early Roman Glass int he Corning Museum of Glass_, pp. 171-172. Diane C. Wright (editor), _Glass Masterworks from the Chrysler Museum of Art_ (Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2017), pg. 36-37.