A Glass Portrait from a Late Roman Halieutic Context in Baelo Claudia (Tarifa, Spain)

Retamosa et al describe the glass portrait from a Late Roman Halieutic Context. The object of a very translucent pale green, almost colorless, is oval-shaped, 2.1 cm in width and 2.3 cm in height. Part of the upper left side is fractured and the preserved edges are very worn. Some impurities and bubbles can be observed with greater clarity through the fractured area. The back of the glass has a bulbous convex profile of considerable thickness (1-1 cm), while its front face has a flat side decorated with a bust in bas-relief. This decorated face in turn has an indented spiral line that affects the shape of the bas-relief, producing irregularities on its surface. The spiral marks, corresponding to fluid marks, owe their presence to Hawed stamping, perhaps due to insufficient pressure, causing the hot glass to be uneven on the surface. This same principle could explain the poor level of detail on the stamped bust.