This glass drinking bowl was excavated from a Roman site at Wint Hill in Somerset in 1956. It was probably made in Cologne in the mid-fourth century AD.
The bowl is engraved on the outer surface, but was intended to be viewed from the inside, where a horseman and two hounds can be seen driving a hare into a net. Scenes like this were popular in the Rhineland and provide evidence of Roman life.
The edge of the bowl is inscribed in Latin and Greek with ‘VIVASCVMTVISPIE∑’. This combines two motos which together mean ‘Long life to you; drink, and good health’.
The bowl was purchased by the Ashmolean with the aid the the National Art Collections Fund.
The bowl is on display in the 'Rome' gallery on the ground floor.
Click to enlarge
Wint Hill Bowl (AN1957.186)
Further Information
The Wint Bowl, Antiquities Collection Highlights, Ashmolean Museum website
Find out more about:
- British Roman Collections at the Ashmolean Museum
- Objects from England in the Ashmolean Museum
- British Collections Online - searchable database of the collection
Arthur MacGregor
January 2012
