10 Facts About Gold glass

Gold glass or gold sandwich glass is a luxury form of glass where a decorative design in gold leaf is fused between two layers of glass.

Verre eglomise properly covers a single layer of Gold glass which is gilded on the back, as used in 19th century shop signs and the like.

Larger Hellenistic Gold glass bowls are thought to have been formed using moulding rather than blown, as the whole bowl is doubled and the inner and outer vessels must fit together exactly.

Gold glass backgrounds were laid over earth red or yellow ochre backgrounds which enhanced their visual effect.

Roman gold glass beads were made by using an inner tube or rod to which the gold leaf was stuck.

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Easily transported and very attractive, Roman gold glass beads have been found as far outside the Empire as the Wari-Bateshwar ruins in Bangladesh, and sites in China, Korea, Thailand and Malaysia.

Gold-band glass is a related Hellenistic and Roman technique, where strips of gold leaf, sandwiched between colourless glass, are used as part of the marbling effect in onyx glass.

None of the type of gold glass vessels cut down as grave-markers has survived complete, though about 500 of the cut-off bottoms are known, but since so many have inscriptions encouraging the owner to drink, they are usually referred to as "cups" or "glasses".

At what was probably a much later date, perhaps after decades of use, on the death of the owner the main vessel of undecorated glass was cut away and trimmed to leave only the gold glass roundel, which was then used in the catacombs as a grave marker.

Gold glass had perhaps been given or commissioned the piece to celebrate victory in a musical competition.