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140-599: The Portland Vase is a Roman cameo glass vase, which is dated between AD 1 and AD 25, though low BC dates have some scholarly support. It is the best known piece of Roman cameo glass and has served as an inspiration to many glass and porcelain makers from about the beginning of the 18th century onwards. It was first recorded in Rome in 1600–1601, and since 1810 has been in the British Museum in London. The museum held it on loan from

280-470: A Roman client state and end the threat it posed on the Roman- Parthian border. Augustus was able to reach a compromise whereby the standards were returned, and Armenia remained a neutral territory between the two powers. Tiberius married Vipsania Agrippina , the daughter of Augustus's close friend and most famed general, Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa . He was appointed to the position of praetor , and

420-422: A boar with a javelin to open soldiers' games, which severely limited his mobility in his final days. Since the 20th century, much scholarship has been dedicated to Tiberius's psychological profile. Modern assessments tend to agree that he likely suffered from lifelong major depressive disorder . Additionally, while wine consumption was a regular part of Roman life, contemporary sources note he consumed more than

560-505: A book-length psychological assessment of the Emperor, which further argued he suffered from some kind of anxiety disorder . Had he died before AD 23, he might have been hailed as an exemplary ruler. Despite the overwhelmingly negative characterisation left by Roman historians, Tiberius left the imperial treasury with nearly 3 billion sesterces upon his death. Rather than embark on costly campaigns of conquest, he chose to strengthen

700-404: A change in attitude that placed glass as individual material of merit no longer required to imitate precious stones, ceramics, or metal, or whether the shift to colourless glass indicated an attempt to mimic highly prized rock crystal. Pliny's Natural History states that "the most highly valued glass is colourless and transparent, as closely as possible resembling rock crystal" (36, 198), which

840-538: A combination of undercutting and shading the reliefs in grey), and it marks his last major achievement. Wedgwood put the first edition on private show between April and May 1790, with that exhibition proving so popular that visitor numbers had to be restricted by only printing 1,900 tickets, before going on show in his public London showrooms. (One ticket to the private exhibition, illustrated by Samuel Alkin and printed with "Admission to see Mr Wedgwood's copy of The Portland Vase, Greek Street, Soho, between 12 o'clock and 5",

980-496: A dark, reclusive and sombre ruler who never really wanted to be emperor; Pliny the Elder called him "the gloomiest of men". Tiberius was born in Rome on 16 November 42 BC to Tiberius Claudius Nero and Livia Drusilla . Both of his biological parents belonged to the gens Claudia , an ancient patrician family that came to prominence in the early years of the republic. His mother

1120-413: A display describing the trials of replicating the vase, and several examples of the early experiments are shown. At 3:45 p.m. on 7 February 1845, the vase was shattered by William Lloyd, who, after drinking all the previous week, threw a nearby sculpture on top of the case, smashing both it and the vase. He was arrested and charged with the crime of willful damage. When his lawyer said that an error in

1260-517: A flux. Roman glass relied on natron from Wadi El Natrun, and as a result it is thought that glass-making workshops during the Roman period may have been confined to near-coastal regions of the eastern Mediterranean . This facilitated the trade in the raw colourless or naturally coloured glass which they produced, which reached glass-working sites across the Roman empire. The scarcity of archaeological evidence for Roman glass-making facilities has resulted in

1400-413: A further saving in time, raw material and equipment. Although earlier techniques dominated during the early Augustan and Julio-Claudian periods, by the middle to late 1st century AD earlier techniques had been largely abandoned in favour of blowing. As a result of these factors, the cost of production was reduced and glass became available for a wider section of society in a growing variety of forms. By

1540-493: A much smaller group of 3rd century portrait levels are superbly executed, with pigment painted on top of the gold. The same technique began to be used for gold tesserae for mosaics in the mid-1st century in Rome, and by the 5th century these had become the standard background for religious mosaics. A number of other techniques were in use during the Roman period, including enamelled glass and engraved glass . Shards of broken glass or glass rods were being used in mosaics from

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1680-591: A part. Tacitus understood this to be Tiberius's innermost reason for moving to Rhodes, a reflection of his hatred of Julia and his longing for Vipsania. Tiberius, forbidden to see the woman he loved, found himself married to a woman he loathed, and publicly humiliated by her nighttime escapades in the Roman Forum . Whatever Tiberius's motives, his withdrawal was almost disastrous for Augustus's succession plans. Gaius and Lucius were still in their early teens, and Augustus, now 57 years old, had no immediate successor. There

1820-487: A picture of how Tiberius was perceived by the Roman senatorial class, and what his impact on the Principate was during his 23 years of rule. The affair of Sejanus and the final years of treason trials permanently damaged Tiberius's image and reputation. After Sejanus's fall, Tiberius's withdrawal from Rome was complete; the empire continued to run under the inertia of the bureaucracy established by Augustus, rather than through

1960-410: A pillow. Seneca the Elder also reports Tiberius having died a natural death. According to Cassius Dio , Caligula, fearing that the emperor would recover, refused Tiberius's requests for food, insisting that he needed warmth, not food; then, assisted by Macro, he smothered the emperor in his bedclothes. Neither Josephus, Pliny, nor Philo relate the story of Tiberius's suffocation, stating simply

2100-545: A replacement. In AD 26, Tiberius moved to an imperial villa-complex he had inherited from Augustus, on the island of Capri . It was just off the coast of Campania, which was a traditional holiday retreat for Rome's upper classes, particularly those who valued cultured leisure ( otium ) and a Hellenised lifestyle. Lucius Aelius Sejanus had served the imperial family for almost twenty years when he became Praetorian Prefect in AD ;15. As Tiberius became more embittered with

2240-406: A series of purge trials of Senators and wealthy equestrians in the city of Rome, removing those capable of opposing his power as well as extending the imperial (and his own) treasury. Germanicus's widow Agrippina the Elder and two of her sons, Nero Julius Caesar and Drusus Caesar were arrested and exiled in AD 30 and later all died in suspicious circumstances. In Sejanus's purge of Agrippina

2380-454: A similar blue-glass cameo vessel from Pompeii ). It was attached to the bottom from at least 1826. The meaning of the images on the vase is unclear, and none of the many theories put forward has been found generally satisfactory. They fall into two main groups: mythological and historical, though a historical interpretation of a myth is also a possibility. Historical interpretations focus on Augustus , his family and his rivals, especially given

2520-506: A slow rhythmic re crystallisation process of the glass, likely occurring in the silicagel layer formed by the hydration of the outer glass surface. The diffraction of light by the so-formed grating constituted by hundred of nanolayers of silica crystallised at the surface of the altered glass is responsible for a typical golden patina . Tiberius Tiberius Julius Caesar Augustus ( / t aɪ ˈ b ɪər i ə s / ty- BEER -ee-əs ; 16 November 42 BC – 16 March AD 37)

2660-469: A son, Drusus Julius Caesar . After Agrippa died, Augustus insisted that Tiberius divorce Vipsania and marry Agrippa's widow, Augustus' own daughter (Tiberius's step-sister) Julia . Tiberius reluctantly gave in. This second marriage proved scandalous, deeply unhappy, and childless; ultimately, Julia was sent into exile by her father. Tiberius adopted his nephew, the able and popular Germanicus , as heir. On Augustus's death in 14, Tiberius became princeps at

2800-422: A wooden frame on top of a layer of sand or stone, but from the late 3rd century onwards window glass was made by the muff process , where a blown cylinder was cut laterally and flattened out to produce a sheet. See also modern glass colors . These colours formed the basis of all Roman glass, and although some of them required high technical ability and knowledge, a degree of uniformity was achieved. Not all

2940-475: A young man, he was considered attractive by Roman beauty standards. Even in adulthood, he was prone to severe acne outbreaks. He wore his hair cut short at the front and sides but long in the back so it covered the nape of his neck in a style similar to the mullet , which Suetonius claims was a family tradition of the Claudian gens. This assertion is confirmed by busts of other Claudian men, who were depicted with

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3080-482: Is during this time that the question of Augustus's heir became most acute, and while Augustus had seemed to indicate that Agrippa and Marcellus would carry on his position in the event of his death, the ambiguity of succession became Augustus's chief problem. In response, a series of potential heirs seem to have been selected, among them Tiberius and his brother Drusus. In 24 BC, at the age of seventeen, Tiberius entered politics under Augustus's direction, receiving

3220-428: Is related to the origin of glass as a substitute for gemstones . By borrowing techniques for stone and carved gems , artisans were able to produce a variety of small containers from blocks of raw glass or thick moulded blanks , including cameo glass in two or more colours, and cage cups (still thought by most scholars to have been decorated by cutting, despite some debate). These techniques, which were to dominate

3360-402: Is some variation in Roman glass compositions, meaningful compositional groups have been difficult to establish for this period. The Roman writers Statius and Martial both indicate that recycling broken glass was an important part of the glass industry, and this seems to be supported by the fact that only rarely are glass fragments of any size recovered from domestic sites of this period. In

3500-548: Is thought to be a pseudonym. Investigators hired by the British Museum concluded that he was actually William Mulcahy, a student who had gone missing from Trinity College Dublin . Detectives reported that the Mulcahy family was impoverished. The owner of the vase declined to bring a civil action against William Mulcahy because he did not want his family to suffer for "an act of folly or madness which they could not control". The vase

3640-414: Is thought to have originated either in the addition of salt (NaCl) to reduce the melting temperature and viscosity of the glass, or as a contaminant in the natron. Archaeological evidence for glass making during the Roman period is scarce, but by drawing comparisons with the later Islamic and Byzantine periods, it is clear that glass making was a significant industry. By the end of the Roman period glass

3780-439: Is thought to support this last position, as is evidence for the persistence of casting as a production technique, which produced the thickly walled vessels necessary to take the pressure of extensive cutting and polishing associated with crystal working. Artisans used a mass of mud and straw fixed around a metal rod to form a core, and built up a vessel by either dipping the core in liquified glass, or by trailing liquid glass over

3920-581: The Indianapolis Museum of Art and the Department of Prehistory and Europe at the British Museum. The Auckland War Memorial Museum has a 19th-century jasperware facsimile in their collections. The soap magnate William Hesketh Lever, who has one of the finest collections of Wedgewood Jasperware in existence today, purchased two of Wedgewood's Portland vases. One of them is on display in the Wedgewood rooms of

4060-805: The Lady Lever Art Gallery in Port Sunlight The vase also inspired a 19th-century competition to duplicate its cameo-work in glass, with Benjamin Richardson offering a £1,000 prize to anyone who could achieve that feat. Taking three years, glass maker Philip Pargeter made a copy and John Northwood engraved it, to win the prize. This copy is in the Corning Museum of Glass in Corning, New York. The Wedgwood Museum , in Barlaston, near Stoke-on-Trent, contains

4200-564: The Princeps to the death of Germanicus is unknown; rather than continuing to stand trial when it became evident that the Senate was against him, Piso committed suicide. In AD 22, Tiberius shared his tribunician authority with his son Drusus, and began making yearly excursions to Campania that reportedly became longer and longer every year. In AD 23, Drusus died in mysterious circumstances, and Tiberius seems to have made no effort to elevate

4340-467: The South China Sea . In addition to this a major new technique in glass production had been introduced during the 1st century AD. Glassblowing allowed glass workers to produce vessels with considerably thinner walls, decreasing the amount of glass needed for each vessel. Glass blowing was also considerably quicker than other techniques, and vessels required considerably less finishing, representing

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4480-500: The consulship . He was cremated with all due ceremony and, as had been arranged beforehand, deified , his will read, and Tiberius, now a middle-aged man at 55, was confirmed as his sole surviving heir. Tiberius peacefully took power, unchallenged by any rivals. On 17 September Tiberius called the Senate in order to validate his position as Princeps , and, as had Augustus before him, grant himself its powers. Tiberius already had

4620-485: The dukes of Portland until 1945, and bought it from them that year (GR 1945,0927.1). It is normally on display in Room 70. The vase measures about 25 centimetres (9.8 in) high and 18 cm (7.1 in) in diameter. It is made of violet-blue glass, and surrounded with a single continuous white glass cameo making two distinct scenes, depicting seven human figures, plus a large snake, and two bearded and horned heads below

4760-462: The standards of the legions under the command of Marcus Licinius Crassus (53 BC) (at the Battle of Carrhae ), Decidius Saxa (40 BC), and Mark Antony (36 BC) and, after negotiations with Parthia's King Phraates IV , either Augustus or Tiberius, or perhaps both together, were able to reclaim them for Rome. Tiberius then led a sizeable force into Armenia , presumably to establish it as

4900-438: The "Portland Vase". It was deposited there permanently by the fourth duke in 1810, after a friend of his broke its base. It has remained in the British Museum ever since 1810, apart from 1929 to 1932, when the 6th duke put it up for sale at Christie's (where it failed to reach its reserve). It was finally purchased by the museum from the 7th duke in 1945 with the aid of a bequest from James Rose Vallentin. The 3rd duke lent

5040-405: The 2nd century onwards styles became increasingly regionalised, and evidence indicates that bottles and closed vessels such as unguentaria moved as a by-product of the trade in their contents, and many appear to have matched the Roman scale of liquid measurement. The use of coloured glass as a decorative addition to pale and colourless glasses also increased, and metal vessels continued to influence

5180-565: The 3rd and early 4th centuries producers north of the Alps were exporting down to the north of Italy and the transalpine regions. Glass working sites such as those at Aquileia also had an important role in the spread of glassworking traditions and the trade in materials that used hollow glasswares as containers. However, by the 4th and 5th centuries Italian glass workshops predominate. The earliest Roman glass follows Hellenistic traditions and uses strongly coloured and 'mosaic' patterned glass. During

5320-555: The 3rd century. There are a very fewer larger designs, but the great majority of the around 500 survivals are roundels that are the cut-off bottoms of wine cups or glasses used to mark and decorate graves in the Catacombs of Rome by pressing them into the mortar. The great majority are 4th century, extending into the 5th century. Most are Christian, but many pagan and a few Jewish; their iconography has been much studied, although artistically they are relatively unsophisticated. In contrast,

5460-470: The Augustan period onwards, but by the beginning of the 1st century small glass tiles, known as tesserae , were being produced specifically for use in mosaics. These were usually in shades of yellow, blue or green, and were predominantly used in mosaics laid under fountains or as highlights. Around the same time the first window panes are thought to have been produced. The earliest panes were rough cast into

5600-526: The Elder and her family, Caligula , Agrippina the Younger , Julia Drusilla , and Julia Livilla were the only survivors. In 31, Sejanus held the consulship with Tiberius in absentia , and began his play for power in earnest. Precisely what happened is difficult to determine, but Sejanus seems to have covertly attempted to court those families who were tied to the Julians and attempted to ingratiate himself with

5740-584: The Imperial period, and Syrian glass being exported as far as Italy. During this period vessel forms varied between workshops, with areas such as the Rhineland and northern France producing distinctive forms which are not seen further south. Growth in the industry continued into the 3rd century AD, when sites at the Colonia Claudia Agrippinensis appear to have experienced significant expansion, and by

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5880-511: The Julian family line to place himself, as an adopted Julian, in the position of Princeps , or as a possible regent . Livilla was later implicated in this plot and was revealed to have been Sejanus's lover for several years. The plot seems to have involved the two of them overthrowing Tiberius, with the support of the Julians, and either assuming the Principate themselves, or serving as regent to

6020-595: The Po Valley by the end of the 1st century BC, producing the new blown vessels alongside cast vessels. Italy is known to have been a centre for the working and export of brightly coloured vessels at this time, with production peaking during the mid-1st century AD. By the early-to-mid-1st century AD, the growth of the Empire saw the establishment of glass working sites at locations along trade routes, with Cologne and other Rhineland centres becoming important glass working sites from

6160-432: The Roman glass working industry after the late 1st century AD, are discussed in detail on the glass blowing page. Mould-blown glass appears in the second quarter of the 1st century AD. A number of other techniques were in use during the Roman period: The glass sheets used for slumping could be produced of plain or multicoloured glass, or even formed of 'mosaic' pieces. The production of these objects later developed into

6300-462: The Romano-Italian industry and almost exclusively associated with the production of fine wares. However, during the last thirty years of the 1st century AD there was a marked change in style, with strong colours disappearing rapidly, replaced by 'aqua' and true colourless glasses. Colourless and 'aqua' glasses had been in use for vessels and some mosaic designs prior to this, but start to dominate

6440-590: The administrative and political powers of the Princeps , but he lacked the titles of Augustus and Pater Patriae ("Father of the country"), and refused the Civic Crown . Like Augustus before him, Tiberius may have sought to represent himself as a reluctant yet devoted public servant, no more than an ordinary citizen who wanted to serve the state and people to the best of his ability, but his refusal of these titular, quasi-religious honours, and his reluctance to accept

6580-423: The age of 55. He seems to have taken on the responsibilities of head of state with great reluctance and perhaps a genuine sense of inadequacy in the role, compared to the capable, self-confident and charismatic Augustus. From the outset, Tiberius had a difficult, resentful relationship with the Senate and suspected many plots against him. Nevertheless, he proved to be an effective and efficient administrator. After

6720-417: The age of nine, delivered the eulogy for his biological father at the rostra . In 29 BC, he rode in the triumphal chariot along with his adoptive father Octavian in celebration of the defeat of Antony and Cleopatra at Actium . In 23 BC, Emperor Augustus became gravely ill, and his possible death threatened to plunge the Roman world into even more civil conflict. Historians generally agree that it

6860-547: The arrow) who had a dream of being impregnated by Apollo in the form of a sea serpent (ketos), note the snake's prominent teeth. The onlooker with his staff, could be Aeneas , a hero of the Trojan Wars who saved his father by carrying him over his back (hence his hunched position, and his Trojan beard) and who is believed to have founded Rome, and from whom the Julian gens , including Julius Caesar and Attia, claimed descent, witnessing

7000-409: The assistance of his niece, Mary, he arranged a private sale of the vase to Margaret Cavendish-Harley , Dowager Duchess of Portland. It was sold at auction in 1786 and passed into the possession of the duchess's son, William Cavendish-Bentinck, 3rd Duke of Portland . The 3rd duke lent the original vase to Josiah Wedgwood and then to the British Museum for safe-keeping, by which point it was known as

7140-424: The beginning of the 1st century AD there was still no Latin word for it in the Roman world. However, glass was being produced in Roman contexts using primarily Hellenistic techniques and styles (see glass, history ) by the late Republican period. The majority of manufacturing techniques were time-consuming, and the initial product was a thick-walled vessel which required considerable finishing. This, combined with

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7280-535: The blowing technique (discovered in about 50 BC) was still in its infancy. Recent research suggests that the Portland Vase, like most cameo glass vessels, was made by the dip-overlay method, whereby an elongated bubble of glass was partially dipped into a crucible of white glass before the two were blown together. After cooling the white layer was cut away to form the design. Making a 19th-century copy required painstaking work. This experience suggests that creation of

7420-496: The blown glass market at this time. The use of strong colours in cast glass died out during this period, with colourless or 'aqua' glasses dominating the last class of cast vessels to be produced in quantity, as mould and free-blowing took over during the 1st century AD. From around 70 AD colourless glass becomes the predominant material for fine wares, and the cheaper glasses move towards pale shades of blue, green, and yellow. Debate continues whether this change in fashion indicates

7560-577: The bonuses promised to them by Augustus, and showed early signs of mutiny when it was clear that a response from Tiberius was not forthcoming. Germanicus and Tiberius's son, Drusus Julius Caesar , were dispatched with a small force to quell the uprising and bring the legions back in line. Germanicus took charge of the mutinous troops and led them on a short campaign across the Rhine into Germanic territory, promising that whatever treasure they could grab would count as their bonus. Germanicus's forces took over all

7700-517: The box was never collected. After Gabb's death, the executor of his estate, Amy Reeves, brought in Croker to assess Gabb's effects. This was how Crocker came to bring them to the museum to ask for help in identifying them. By November 1948, the restoration appeared aged and it was decided to restore the vase again. It was dismantled by conservator J. W. R. Axtell in mid-November 1948. The pieces were examined by D. B. Harden and W. A. Thorpe, who confirmed that

7840-479: The circular glass base removed in 1845 was not original. Axtell then carried out a reconstruction, completed by 2 February 1949, in which he was only successful in replacing three of the 37 loose fragments. He reportedly used "new adhesives" for this restoration, which some thought might be epoxy resins or shellac, but were later discovered to simply be the same type of animal glue that Doubleday used in 1845. He also filled some areas with wax. No documentation of his work

7980-575: The clear candidate for succession. As such, in 12 BC he received military commissions in Pannonia and Germania , both areas highly volatile and of key importance to Augustan policy. In 6 BC, Tiberius launched a pincer movement against the Marcomanni . Setting out northwest from Carnuntum on the Danube with four legions, Tiberius passed through Quadi territory in order to invade Marcomanni territory from

8120-623: The collection of Cardinal Francesco Maria Del Monte in Italy. In 1626, it passed into the Barberini family collection (which also included sculptures such as the Barberini Faun and Barberini Apollo ) where it remained for some two hundred years, being one of the treasures of Maffeo Barberini, later Pope Urban VIII (1623–1644). It was at this point that the Severan connection is first recorded. The vase

8260-448: The colours of ancient glass are necessarily produced by chemical dopants , or impurities, initially present in the amorphous glass network, or incorporated in a later stade in the altered glass (buried in the soil or exposed to ambient air) by a slow diffusion -controlled process. Beside metallic cations , well known for their characteristic colours, or less frequently anions such as the red-brown selenide anion ( HSe , Se ), or

8400-460: The conception of Rome's future savior as an Empire, and the greatest of all the Emperors. On the reverse is Octavian, Octavia his sister, widow of Mark Antony (downcast flambeau, broken tablets) and Livia , Octavian's third wife who outlived him. These two are looking directly at each other. Octavian commanded she divorce her then husband and marry him with a few weeks of meeting, she was mother to

8540-454: The conclusion of the lustral ceremonies." Thus, according to Suetonius, these ceremonies and the declaration of his "co-Princeps" took place in the year AD 12, after Tiberius's return from Germania. "But he was at once recalled, and finding Augustus in his last illness but still alive, he spent an entire day with him in private." Augustus died on 19 August AD 14, a month before his 76th birthday and exactly 56 years after he first assumed

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8680-448: The core. The core was removed after the glass had cooled, and handles, rims and bases were then added. These vessels are characterised by relatively thick walls, bright colours and zigzagging patterns of contrasting colours, and were limited in size to small unguent or scent containers. This early technique continued in popularity during the 1st century BC, despite the earlier introduction of slumped and cast vessels. This technique

8820-469: The cost of importing natron for the production of raw glass, contributed to the limited use of glass and its position as an expensive and high-status material. The glass industry was therefore a relatively minor craft during the Republican period; although, during the early decades of the 1st century AD the quantity and diversity of glass vessels available increased dramatically. This was a direct result of

8960-454: The date and location of his death, contradictory accounts exist of the precise circumstances. Tacitus relates that the emperor appeared to have stopped breathing, and that Caligula, who was at Tiberius's villa, was being congratulated on his succession to the empire, when news arrived that the emperor had revived and was recovering his faculties. He goes on to report that those who had moments before recognized Caligula as Augustus fled in fear of

9100-488: The date of his death and/or the length of his reign. Modern medical analysis has concluded Tiberius most likely died as a result of myocardial infarction . After his death, the Senate refused to vote Tiberius the divine honours that had been paid to Augustus, and mobs filled the streets yelling "To the Tiber with Tiberius!" (the bodies of criminals were typically thrown into the river, instead of being buried or burnt). However,

9240-494: The death of Lucius. Augustus, with perhaps some pressure from Livia, allowed Tiberius to return to Rome as a private citizen and nothing more. In AD 4, Gaius was killed in Armenia, and Augustus had no other choice but to turn to Tiberius. The death of Gaius initiated a flurry of activity in the household of Augustus. Tiberius was adopted in 26 June as full son and heir, and in turn he was required to adopt his nephew Germanicus ,

9380-562: The deaths of his nephew Germanicus in AD 19 and his son Drusus in 23, Tiberius became reclusive and aloof. In 26 he removed himself from Rome and left administration largely in the hands of his ambitious praetorian prefect Sejanus , whom he later had executed for treason, and then Sejanus's replacement, Macro . When Tiberius died, he was succeeded by his grand-nephew and adopted grandson, Germanicus's son Caligula , whose lavish building projects and varyingly successful military endeavours drained much of

9520-460: The disfigurement of his face may have been contributing factors to his retreat to Capri, and noted that he regularly attempted to cover his sores with plaster . Despite this, Suetonius reports that Tiberius enjoyed good general health for the duration of his reign. Late in life he suffered from a poor pulse, which modern scholars believe may have been a sign of heart disease . Shortly before his death, he suffered an injury to his back while killing

9660-584: The east. Meanwhile, general Gaius Sentius Saturninus would depart east from Moguntiacum on the Rhine with two or three legions, pass through newly annexed Hermunduri territory, and attack the Marcomanni from the west. The campaign was a resounding success, but Tiberius could not subjugate the Marcomanni because he was soon summoned to the Rhine frontier to protect Rome's new conquests in Germania. He returned to Rome and

9800-513: The emperor was cremated, and his ashes were placed in the Mausoleum of Augustus . In his will , Tiberius nominated Caligula and Tiberius Gemellus as his joint heirs. Caligula's first act on becoming Princeps was to void Tiberius's will. Suetonius describes Tiberius as being pale skinned, broad shouldered, left-handed , and exceptionally strong and tall for a Roman, although he had poor posture. Suetonius and Paterculus both write that, as

9940-408: The emperor's wrath, while Macro took advantage of the chaos to have Tiberius smothered with his own bedclothes. Suetonius reports that, upon recovering after an illness, and finding himself deserted by his attendants, Tiberius attempted to rise from his couch, but fell dead. Suetonius further reports several rumours, including that the emperor had been poisoned by Caligula, starved, and smothered with

10080-505: The end of the 1st century AD large scale manufacturing resulted in the establishment of glass as a commonly available material in the Roman world, and one which also had technically very difficult specialized types of luxury glass, which must have been very expensive, and competed with silver and gold as elite tableware. Despite the growth of glass working in the Hellenistic World and the growing place of glass in material culture , at

10220-560: The example at the Victoria and Albert Museum ) to the sprigged reliefs 'lifting' during the firing, and in 1786 he feared that he could never apply the Jasper relief thinly enough to match the glass original's subtlety and delicacy. He finally managed to perfect it in 1790, with the issue of the "first-edition" of copies (with some of this edition, including the V&;A one, copying the cameo's delicacy by

10360-418: The existing empire by building additional bases, using diplomacy as well as military threats, and generally refraining from getting drawn into petty squabbles between competing frontier tyrants. The result was a stronger, more consolidated empire, ensuring the imperial institutions introduced by his adoptive father would remain for centuries to come. Of the authors whose texts have survived, only four describe

10500-407: The eyes of Tiberius, who thereafter refers to him as his Socius Laborum (Partner of my labours). Tiberius had statues of Sejanus erected throughout the city, and Sejanus became more and more visible as Tiberius began to withdraw from Rome altogether. Finally, with Tiberius's withdrawal in AD 26, Sejanus was left in charge of the entire state mechanism and the city of Rome. Sejanus's position

10640-444: The fashions and technologies developed in the ceramic trade, from which a number of forms and techniques were drawn. Glass making reached its peak at the beginning of the 2nd century AD, with glass objects in domestic contexts of every kind. The primary production techniques of blowing, and to a lesser extent casting, remained in use for the rest of the Roman period, with changes in vessel types but little change in technology. From

10780-426: The first time. At the same time, the expansion of the empire also brought an influx of people and an expansion of cultural influences that resulted in the adoption of eastern decorative styles. The changes that took place in the Roman glass industry during this period can therefore be seen as a result of three primary influences: historical events, technical innovation and contemporary fashions. They are also linked to

10920-453: The first with a distinctly Roman style unrelated to the Hellenistic casting traditions on which they are based, and are characterised by novel rich colours. 'Emerald' green, dark or cobalt blue , a deep blue-green and Persian or 'peacock' blue are most commonly associated with this period, and other colours are very rare. Of these, Emerald green and peacock blue were new colours introduced by

11060-481: The four innocent people to be condemned fell victims to the excessive zeal of the Senate, not to the emperor's tyranny. While Tiberius was in Capri, rumours abounded as to what exactly he was doing there. Suetonius records the rumours of lurid tales of sexual perversity, including graphic depictions of child molestation, cruelty, and most of all his paranoia. While heavily sensationalised, Suetonius's stories at least paint

11200-679: The full powers of a princeps were taken as insults to the elite who offered them; signs of hypocrisy, not humility. According to Tacitus, Tiberius derided the Senate as "men fit to be slaves". Antagonism between Tiberius and his senate seems to have been a feature of his rule. In his first few years as emperor, Tiberius seems to have wanted the Senate to act alone, with no reference to him or his responsibilities as "first Senator". His direct orders were rather vague, inspiring debates on what he actually meant, rather than passing his legislation. The Roman legions in Pannonia and Germania had not been paid

11340-432: The future Emperor Tiberius . This vase suggests Octavian was descended partly from Apollo (thus partly divine, shades of Achilles ), whom he worshiped as a god, gave private parties in his honor together with Minerva , Roman Goddess of War, from the founder of Rome, and his connection to his uncle Julius Caesar, for whom as a young man he gave a remarkable funeral oratory, and who adopted him on his father's death, when he

11480-452: The governor of Syria, of poisoning him. The Pisones had been longtime supporters of the Claudians, and had allied themselves with the young Octavian after his marriage to Livia, the mother of Tiberius. Germanicus's death and accusations indicted the new Princeps . Piso was placed on trial and, according to Tacitus, threatened to implicate Tiberius. Whether the governor actually could connect

11620-487: The handles, marking the break between the scenes. The bottom of the vase was a cameo glass disc, also in blue and white, showing a head, presumed to be of Paris or Priam based on the Phrygian cap it wears. This roundel clearly does not belong to the vase and has been displayed separately since 1845. It may have been added in antiquity or later, or is the result of a conversion from an original amphora form (paralleled by

11760-399: The largest cases, large furnaces were built to surround these tanks. In comparison to glass making, there is evidence for glass working in many locations across the empire. Unlike the making process, the working of glass required significantly lower temperatures and substantially less fuel. As a result of this and the expansion of the Empire, glass working sites developed in Rome, Campania and

11900-413: The late Republican period new highly coloured striped wares with a fusion of dozens of monochrome and lace-work strips were introduced. During this period there is some evidence that styles of glass varied geographically, with the translucent coloured fine wares of the early 1st century notably 'western' in origin, whilst the later colourless fine wares are more 'international'. These objects also represent

12040-497: The leadership of the Princeps . Suetonius records that he became paranoid , and spent a great deal of time brooding over the death of his son. During this period there was a short invasion by Parthia , and incursions on Roman territories by Dacian and Germanic tribes. Little was done to plan or secure Tiberius's succession . The Julians and their supporters were diminished in numbers and political influence, thanks to Sejanus, and Tiberius's immediate heirs were dead. Caligula ,

12180-833: The massive growth of the Roman influence at the end of the Republican period, the Pax Romana that followed the decades of civil war, and the stabilisation of the state that occurred under Augustus ' rule. Still, Roman glasswares were already making their way from Western Asia (i.e. the Parthian Empire ) to the Kushan Empire in Afghanistan and India and as far as the Han Empire of China . The first Roman glass found in China came from an early 1st-century BC tomb at Guangzhou , ostensibly via

12320-406: The mid-1st century AD this meant that glass vessels had moved from a valuable, high-status commodity, to a material commonly available: "a [glass] drinking cup could be bought for a copper coin" (Strabo, Geographica XVI.2). This growth also saw the production of the first glass tesserae for mosaics, and the first window glass, as furnace technology improved allowing molten glass to be produced for

12460-413: The mid-1st century AD, indicates that furnace technologies experienced marked development during the early-to-mid-1st century AD, in tandem with the expansion of glass production. The siting of glass-making workshops was governed by three primary factors: the availability of fuel which was needed in large quantities, sources of sand which represented the major constituent of the glass, and natron to act as

12600-502: The modern caneworking and millefiori techniques, but is noticeably different. Six primary patterns of 'mosaic' glass have been identified: The production of multicoloured vessels declined after the mid-1st century, but remained in use for some time after. Gold sandwich glass or gold glass was a technique for fixing a layer of gold leaf with a design between two fused layers of glass, developed in Hellenistic glass and revived in

12740-409: The museum tested many adhesives for long-term stability, choosing an epoxy resin with excellent ageing properties. Reassembly revealed some fragments had been filed down during the restorations, complicating the process. All but a few small splinters were integrated. Gaps were filled with blue or white resin. Little sign of the original damage is visible, and, except for light cleaning, it is hoped that

12880-467: The original Portland Vase required two years of work. Cutting was probably performed by a skilled gem-cutter, possibly Dioskourides . Engraved gems are extant which are of a similar period and are signed and thought to be cut by him (Vollenweider 1966, see Gem in the collection of the duke of Devonshire "Diomedes stealing the Palladium"). This is supported by the Corning Museum in their 190-page study of

13020-492: The period after the death of Julius Caesar . It is based on the skill of the famous Greek carver of engraved gems Dioskourides , who is recorded as active and at his peak circa 40–15 BC and three of whose attributed cameos bear a close resemblance in line and quality to the Portland vase figures. This theory proposes that the first two figures are Gaius Octavius, father of the future emperor, and Atia , his mother (hence Cupid with

13160-600: The position of Princeps , he began to depend more and more upon the limited secretariat left to him by Augustus, and specifically upon Sejanus and the Praetorians. In AD 17 or 18, Tiberius had trimmed the ranks of the Praetorian Guard responsible for the defence of the city, and had moved it from encampments outside of the city walls into the city itself , giving Sejanus access to somewhere between 6000 and 9000 troops. The death of Drusus elevated Sejanus, at least in

13300-549: The position of quaestor , and was granted the right to stand for election as praetor and consul five years in advance of the age required by law. Similar provisions were made for Drusus. Shortly thereafter Tiberius began appearing in court as an advocate, and it was presumably at this time that his interest in Greek rhetoric began. In 20 BC, Tiberius went east to join Augustus . The Parthian Empire had previously captured

13440-416: The powers held by Tiberius were made equal, rather than second, to Augustus's own powers, he was for all intents and purposes a "co-Princeps" with Augustus, and, in the event of the latter's passing, would simply continue to rule without an interregnum or possible upheaval. However, according to Suetonius , after a two-year stint in Germania, which lasted from AD 10–12, "Tiberius returned and celebrated

13580-522: The presence of a ketos or sea-snake), and of a marriage theme/context, as the vase may have been a wedding gift. Many scholars (including Charles Towneley ) have concluded that the figures do not fit into a single iconographic set. Interpretations include: Interpretations include: Another variant theory is that the vase dates back to circa 32 BC, and was commissioned by Octavian (later Caesar Augustus ), as an attempt to promote his case against his fellow triumvirs, Mark Antony and Marcus Lepidus in

13720-622: The quality and expense of the object, and the somewhat remote neo-classicism of the style, which compares with some Imperial gemstone cameos featuring Augustus and his family with divine attributes, such as the Gemma Augustea , the Great Cameo of France and the Blacas Cameo (the last also in the British Museum). Interpretations of the portrayals have included that of a marine setting (due to

13860-420: The result of post-traumatic stress disorder . Proponents of this theory believe the tales of Tiberius's lurid sexual exploits were contemporary exaggerations of sexual compulsivity as a means of coping with untreated trauma. Other modern diagnoses offered for Tiberius include obsessive compulsive personality disorder and Schizoid personality disorder ; the latter diagnoses was offered by Gregorio Marañón in

14000-464: The same hairstyle. Suetonius describes his eyes as being larger than average, while a passage in Pliny indicates they were grey or blue-grey; polychromy restoration on a bust of Tiberius depict him with grey eyes and hair. Suetonius reports he tended to talk with his hands , a habit others found unnerving, and which Augustus saw as an inherent character flaw. Both Cassius Dio and Tacitus record that by

14140-509: The shape of glass vessels. After the conversion of Constantine, glass works began to move more quickly from depicting Pagan religious imagery towards Christian religious imagery. The movement of the capital to Constantinople rejuvenated the Eastern glass industry, and the presence of the Roman military in the western provinces did much to prevent any downturn there. By the mid-4th century mould-blowing

14280-552: The sole surviving son of Germanicus, or Tiberius's own grandson, Tiberius Gemellus , were possibly candidates. However, Tiberius only made a half-hearted attempt at the end of his life to make Caligula a quaestor , and thus give him some credibility as a possible successor, while Gemellus himself was still only a teenager and thus completely unsuitable for some years to come. Tiberius died in Misenum on 16 March AD 37, months before his 78th birthday. While ancient sources agree on

14420-458: The son of his brother Nero Claudius Drusus and Augustus's niece Antonia Minor . Along with his adoption, Tiberius received tribunician power as well as a share of Augustus's maius imperium , something that even Marcus Agrippa may never have had. In AD 7, Agrippa Postumus , a younger brother of Gaius and Lucius, was disowned by Augustus and banished to the island of Pianosa , to live in solitary confinement. Thus, when in AD 13,

14560-600: The sorrow of each mourner and followed the rotting corpses, till they were dragged to the Tiber, where, floating or driven on the bank, no one dared to burn or to touch them. However, Tacitus's portrayal of a tyrannical, vengeful emperor has been challenged by some historians: Edward Togo Salmon notes in A History of the Roman World : In the whole twenty two years of Tiberius's reign, not more than fifty-two persons were accused of treason, of whom almost half escaped conviction, while

14700-441: The state. As Tacitus vividly describes, Executions were now a stimulus to his fury, and he ordered the death of all who were lying in prison under accusation of complicity with Sejanus. There lay, singly or in heaps, the unnumbered dead, of every age and sex, the illustrious with the obscure. Kinsfolk and friends were not allowed to be near them, to weep over them, or even to gaze on them too long. Spies were set round them, who noted

14840-586: The territory between the Rhine and the Elbe . They took control of the Teutoburg forest , where three Roman legions and their auxiliary cohorts, led by Publius Quinctilius Varus , had been annihilated by Germanic tribes several years before. Germanicus took back the legionary standards lost in that disaster, saving them from the disgrace of captivity. These bold and successful actions increased Germanicus's already high popular standing. After his return to Rome, Germanicus

14980-490: The time he became Emperor, Tiberius had gone bald. Tacitus further reports that the Emperor had lost most of his body fat and become abnormally thin, although he retained his physical strength. He also contracted a disfiguring facial ailment which may have been a severe case of herpes , an outbreak of which affected the Empire during his reign; Tiberius banned kissing at public functions in an effort to curtail its spread. Tacitus believed that embarrassment over his baldness and

15120-419: The trisulfide cyclic species S − 3 responsible for the typical blue colour of lazurite and lapis lazuli , other processes of pure physical nature can also affect the glass colour. Glass alteration can also induce the formation of rhythmic bands of crystallised SiO 2 (neoformed nanolayers of silica ) at the surface of the weathered glass. These bands resemble Liesegang rings produced by

15260-496: The triumph which he had postponed, accompanied also by his generals, for whom he had obtained the triumphal regalia. And before turning to enter the Capitol, he dismounted from his chariot and fell at the knees of his father, who was presiding over the ceremonies." "Since the consuls caused a law to be passed soon after this that he should govern the provinces jointly with Augustus and hold the census with him, he set out for Illyricum on

15400-504: The use of chemical compositions as evidence for production models, as the division of production indicates that any variation is related to differences in raw glass making. However, the Roman reliance on natron from Wadi El Natrun as a flux, has resulted in a largely homogenous composition in the majority of Roman glasses. Despite the publication of major analyses, comparisons of chemical analyses produced by different analytical methods have only recently been attempted, and although there

15540-414: The vase should not require major conservation work for at least another century. Roman glass However, during the 1st century AD the industry underwent rapid technical growth that saw the introduction of glass blowing and the dominance of colourless or 'aqua' glasses. Production of raw glass was undertaken in geographically separate locations to the working of glass into finished vessels, and by

15680-455: The vase to Josiah Wedgwood, who had already had it described to him by the sculptor John Flaxman as "the finest production of Art that has been brought to England and seems to be the very apex of perfection to which you are endeavoring". Wedgwood devoted four years of painstaking trials at duplicating the vase – not in glass but in black and white jasperware . He had problems with his copies ranging from cracking and blistering (clearly visible on

15820-422: The vase, which had been put into a box and apparently forgotten. On 5 October 1948, the keeper Bernard Ashmole received them in a box from G. A. Croker of Putney, who did not know what they were. After Doubleday's death, a fellow restorer from the British Museum took them to G. H. Gabb, a box maker, who was asked to make a box with thirty seven compartments, one for each fragment. However, the restorer also died and

15960-489: The vase. According to a controversial theory by Rosemarie Lierke , the vase, along with the rest of Roman cameo glass, was moulded rather than cold-cut, probably using white glass powder for the white layer. Jerome Eisenberg has argued in Minerva that the vase was produced in the 16th century AD and not in antiquity, because the iconography is incoherent, but this theory has not been widely accepted. One story suggests that it

16100-404: The wealth that Tiberius had accumulated in the public and Imperial coffers through good management. Tiberius allowed the worship of his divine Genius in only one temple, in Rome's eastern provinces, and promoted restraint in the empire-wide cult to the deceased Augustus. When Tiberius died, he was given a sumptuous funeral befitting his office, but no divine honours. He came to be remembered as

16240-631: The western empire there is evidence that recycling of broken glass was frequent and extensive, and that quantities of broken glassware were concentrated at local sites prior to melting back into raw glass. In the eastern empire, there is evidence of recycled Roman glass being used to glaze Parthian pottery. Compositionally, repeated recycling is visible via elevated levels of those metals used as colourants. Melting does not appear to have taken place in crucibles; rather, cooking pots appear to have been used for small scale operations. For larger work, large tanks or tank-like ceramic containers were utilised. In

16380-409: The wording of the act seemed to limit its application to the destruction of objects worth no more than £5, he was convicted instead of the destruction of the glass case in which the vase had sat. He was sentenced to either pay a fine of £3 (approximately £350 equivalent in 2017) or spend two months in prison. He remained in prison until an anonymous benefactor paid the fine by mail. The name William Lloyd

16520-481: The young Tiberius Gemellus or possibly even Caligula . Those who stood in his way were tried for treason and swiftly dealt with. In AD 31 Sejanus was summoned to a meeting of the Senate, where a letter from Tiberius was read condemning Sejanus and ordering his immediate execution. Sejanus was tried, and he and several of his colleagues were executed within the week. As commander of the Praetorian Guard, he

16660-404: Was Roman emperor from AD 14 until 37. He succeeded his stepfather Augustus , the first Roman emperor. Tiberius was born in Rome in 42 BC to Roman politician Tiberius Claudius Nero and his wife, Livia Drusilla . In 38 BC, Tiberius's mother divorced his father and married Augustus. Following the untimely deaths of Augustus's two grandsons and adopted heirs, Gaius and Lucius Caesar , Tiberius

16800-477: Was also a member of the Livii family, an ancient plebeian but prominent family, through the adoption into it of his maternal grandfather. Little is recorded of Tiberius's early life. In 39 BC, his mother divorced his biological father and, though again pregnant by Tiberius Nero, remarried to Octavian , later known as Augustus. In 38 BC his brother, Nero Claudius Drusus , was born. In 32 BC, Tiberius, at

16940-403: Was appointed as consul , and around this same time his son, Drusus Julius Caesar , was born. Agrippa's death in 12 BC elevated Tiberius and Drusus with respect to the succession. At Augustus's request in 11 BC, Tiberius divorced Vipsania and married Julia the Elder , Augustus's daughter and Agrippa's widow. Tiberius was very reluctant to do this, as Julia had made advances to him when she

17080-415: Was awarded a full triumph , which he celebrated in AD 17. It was the first full triumph held since Augustus's own in 29 BC. In AD 18 Germanicus was granted control over the eastern part of the empire, like Agrippa and Tiberius before him. This was interpreted as a sign that he would be Tiberius's successor; but Germanicus died just over a year later, having accused Gnaeus Calpurnius Piso ,

17220-445: Was being produced in large quantities contained in tanks situated inside highly specialised furnaces, as the 8-tonne glass slab recovered from Bet She'arim illustrates. These workshops could produce many tonnes of raw glass in a single furnace firing, and although this firing might have taken weeks, a single primary workshop could potentially supply multiple secondary glass working sites. It is therefore thought that raw glass production

17360-610: Was bound into the Wedgwood catalogue on view in the Victoria and Albert Museum's British Galleries.) As well as the V&A copy (said to have come from the collection of Wedgwood's grandson, the naturalist Charles Darwin ), others are held at the Fitzwilliam Museum (this is the copy sent by Wedgwood to Erasmus Darwin which his descendants lent to the Museum in 1963 and later sold to them);

17500-399: Was centred around a relatively small number of workshops, where glass was produced on a large scale and then broken into chunks. There is only limited evidence for local glass making, and only in context of window glass. The development of this large-scale industry is not fully understood, but Pliny's Natural History (36, 194), in addition to evidence for the first use of molten glass in

17640-510: Was considered healthy by Roman standards; in the legions he earned the nickname "Biberius" (from bibere , "to drink"). This has led modern writers to conclude he probably suffered from alcoholism . As the Julio-Claudian Emperor who saw the most frontlines combat, and the one who actually led troops into battle, modern writers have concluded Tiberus' erratic and paranoid behavior later in life, as well as his alcohol intake, may have been

17780-815: Was consul for a second time in 7 BC, and in 6 BC was granted tribunician power ( tribunicia potestas ) and control in the East, positions that Agrippa had held before him. In 6 BC, while on the verge of accepting command in the East and becoming the second-most powerful man in Rome, Tiberius announced his withdrawal from politics and retired to Rhodes . The motives for Tiberius's withdrawal are unclear. Some historians have speculated that Tiberius and Drusus were only ever intended as caretakers, and would have been swept aside once Julia's two sons by Agrippa, Gaius and Lucius , were adopted as Augustus's heirs and came of age. The promiscuous, and very public behaviour of his unhappily married wife, Julia, may have also played

17920-469: Was designated Augustus's successor. Prior to this, Tiberius had proved himself an able diplomat and one of the most successful Roman generals : his conquests of Pannonia , Dalmatia , Raetia , and (temporarily) parts of Germania laid the foundations for the empire 's northern frontier. Early in his career, Tiberius was happily married to Vipsania , daughter of Augustus's friend, distinguished general and intended heir, Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa . They had

18060-522: Was discovered by Fabrizio Lazzaro in what was then thought to be the sarcophagus of the Emperor Alexander Severus (died 235) and his mother, at Monte del Grano near Rome , and excavated some time around 1582. The first historical reference to the vase is in a letter of 1601 from the French scholar Nicolas Claude Fabri de Peiresc to the painter Peter Paul Rubens , where it is recorded as in

18200-402: Was in use only sporadically. Roman glass production relied on the application of heat to fuse two primary ingredients: silica and soda. Technical studies of archaeological glasses divide the ingredients of glass as formers, fluxes, stabilisers, as well as possible opacifiers or colourants. Roman glass has also been shown to contain around 1% to 2% chlorine, in contrast to later glasses. This

18340-549: Was known as the "Barberini Vase" in this period. Between 1778 and 1780, Sir William Hamilton , British ambassador in Naples, bought the vase from James Byres , a Scottish art dealer, who had acquired it after it was sold by Cornelia Barberini-Colonna , Princess of Palestrina . She had inherited the vase from the Barberini family. Hamilton brought it to England on his next leave, after the death of his first wife, Catherine. In 1784, with

18480-479: Was married, and Tiberius was happily married. His new marriage with Julia was happy at first, but turned sour. Suetonius claims that when Tiberius ran into Vipsania again, he followed her home crying and begging forgiveness. Soon afterwards, Tiberius met with Augustus, and steps were taken to ensure that Tiberius and Vipsania would never meet again. Tiberius continued to be elevated by Augustus, and after Agrippa's death and his brother Drusus's death in 9 BC, seemed

18620-802: Was no longer a guarantee of a peaceful transfer of power after Augustus's death, nor a guarantee that his family, and therefore his family's allies, would continue to hold power should the position of Princeps survive. Somewhat melodramatic stories tell of Augustus pleading with Tiberius to stay, even going so far as to stage a serious illness. Tiberius's response was to anchor off the shore of Ostia until word came that Augustus had survived, then sailing straightway for Rhodes. Tiberius reportedly regretted his departure and requested to return to Rome several times, but each time Augustus refused his requests. With Tiberius's departure, succession rested solely on Augustus's two young grandsons, Lucius and Gaius Caesar. The situation became more precarious in AD 2 with

18760-463: Was not quite that of successor; he had requested marriage in AD 25 to Tiberius's niece, Livilla , though under pressure quickly withdrew the request. While Sejanus's Praetorians controlled the imperial post, and therefore the information that Tiberius received from Rome and the information Rome received from Tiberius, the presence of Livia seems to have checked his overt power for a time. Her death in AD 29 changed all that. Sejanus began

18900-579: Was only four. All the pieces and people fit in this theory and it explains most mysteries (apart from who actually made it). It would have been a fabulously expensive piece to commission, so that few men of the period could have afforded it. Several attempts at creating the vase must have been made, as modern reproduction trials show today (see below). Historians and archeologists dismiss this modern theory as gods and goddesses with mythical allegories were usually portrayed. Cameo glass vessels were probably all made within about two generations, as experiments when

19040-565: Was overseen by David Akehurst (CCO of Glass and Ceramics) who had assessed the vase's condition during the Glass of the Caesars exhibition and decided to go ahead with reconstruction and stabilization. The treatment had scholarly attention and press coverage. The vase was photographed and drawn to record the position of fragments before dismantling; the BBC filmed the conservation process. Conservation scientists at

19180-400: Was pieced together with fair success in 1845 by British Museum restorer John Doubleday . At the time, the restoration was termed "masterly" and Doubleday was lauded by The Gentleman's Magazine for demonstrating "skilful ingenuity" and "cleverness ... sufficient to establish his immortality as the prince of restorers". However, Doubleday was unable to replace thirty-seven small fragments of

19320-401: Was produced. By the late 1980s, the adhesive was again yellowing and brittle. Although the vase was shown at the British Museum as part of the Glass of the Caesars exhibition (November 1987 – March 1988), it was too fragile to travel to other locations afterwards. Instead, another reconstruction was performed between 1 June 1988 and 1 October 1989 by Nigel Williams and Sandra Smith. The pair

19460-511: Was replaced by Naevius Sutorius Macro . Tacitus claims that more treason trials followed and that whereas Tiberius had been hesitant to act at the outset of his reign, now, towards the end of his life, he seemed to do so without compunction. The hardest hit were those families with political ties to the Julians. Even the imperial magistracy was hit, as any and all who had associated with Sejanus or could in some way be tied to his schemes were summarily tried and executed, their properties seized by

19600-673: Was sent with his legions to assist his brother Drusus in campaigns in the west. While Drusus focused his forces in Gallia Narbonensis and along the German frontier, Tiberius combated the tribes in the Alps and within Transalpine Gaul , conquering Raetia . In 15 BC he discovered the sources of the Danube , and soon afterward the bend of the middle course. Returning to Rome in 13 BC, Tiberius

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