Beyond the Roman World: A Decorated Glass Plate in Sudanese Nubia

Résumé En

The Kingdom of Meroe occupied the area of modern Sudan and was contemporary with Ptolemaic and Roman Egypt. Its position on the periphery of the Hellenistic and Roman worlds granted it access to wide-ranging trade networks and, as a result, imported glassware is a consistent feature of Meroitic archaeology. This paper presents a hitherto unpublished glass plate recovered from a Meroitic grave on Sai Island (c.1000 km south of Alexandria). This exquisitely decorated object is identified as the most southerly example of Fremersdorf’s so-called “Lynceus Group” of facet-cut glassware popular in the 3rd century CE and thought to be produced in Cologne. The discussion contextualises the Sai Plate within Meroitic studies, and includes a detailed assessment of its date and origin. Based on a considered review of its stylistic and iconographic parallels, it is identified as a product of Fremersdorf’s Cologne workshop and represents an extraordinary example of long-distance trade in luxury glassware.