The complex and intricate technique of producing
vessels with mosaic patterning is attested as early as
the second half of the fifteenth century BCE in
Mesopotamia, was developed further in Egypt and
reached its floruit in Hellenistic and Roman
workshops. There are five basic steps in the
manufacture of mosaic glass vessels. First, rods of
different colored glass (figs. 1-2), are cold-bundled
together and heated until they fuse to form a mosaic-
like polychrome design that is visible on cross section
(figs. 3-5).
Second, while still hot, this composite rod, commonly
termed a mosaic cane, is then pulled outward with a
pincers to make a long cane with a narrow diameter in
which the pattern is progressively miniaturized (fig.
6). Third, the mosaic cane is cut crosswise into
sections or lengths (fig. 7). Fourth, a flat disk or cake
of glass is assembled by placing the sections of mosaic
cane side by side and heated into order to fuse the
sections together (fig. 8). Last, the disk is placed over
a mold which upon slow re-heating in a kiln becomes
soft and then sags, or slumps into the mold. (figs.
9-10).
