Ennion: Ancient Master Of Glassblowing And His Legacy

A. Sutherland  - AncientPages.com - Among the earliest workshops that designed and created mold-blown glass was the one that belonged to Ennion, but even before him, there were other glassblowers.

Glass hexagonal amphoriskos dated to 1st half of 1st century AD. Signed by Ennion. source

The earliest evidence of glassblowing comes from a collection of waste from a glass shop, including fragments of glass rods, glass tubes, and tiny blown bottles. The remains of this collection were dumped in a mikvah, a ritual bath in the Jewish Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem.

Ennion was an ancient glassblower, a well-known glass craftsman, and a true master who lived and worked in the first half of the early century AD. He was known for his high-quality antique glass artworks. His creations had beautiful shapes.

Ennion created elegant molded glass vases reproducing the embossed decorations of the precious Alexandrian containers of chiseled or engraved metal. He decorated his small, elegantly shaped flasks, jars, cups, bowls, pitchers, and beakers with remarkably modern-looking floral and geometric designs.

Their colors ranged from rich cobalt blue amber, brown, goldish-brown, and green to pale aqua or ash-like white.

Left: Double Head Flask, Roman Empire; probably Eastern Mediterranean, 200-225. 50.1.15. The Corning Museum of Glass, Corning, New York. Right: Cup, Ennion, Syria; Palestine; Northern Italy, 25-75. 66.1.36. The Corning Museum of Glass, Corning, New York. source

Ennion was a true artist whose signature is known from over thirty surviving pieces, all of which are masterpieces. Ennion was the first known glassmaker to sign his glass objects by adding inscriptions ("Ennion made it") that formed part of the mold's design.

The priceless examples of Ennion's work are in the collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art; the others, however, are elsewhere in different locations.

Behind Ennion's Glass Masterworks Are Hidden Stories Of Their Owners

To shape the ancient glass, Ennion used a detailed design. The mold-blown glass vessels of ancient Rome tell a wealth of stories about the ancient world, from gladiators to perfume vessels, from portraits of a Roman empress to oil containers marked with Mercury's image, the Roman god of trade. We know Ennion's name because archaeological excavations unearthed and recovered some of his glass artworks in different locations around the Mediterranean Sea.

Possibly the first glass craftsman to sign his name to his work, he expanded the craft and production of glassblowing through a new technique, using molds. Perhaps he even invented the process, which is still in use today.

Who Was Ennion And Where Did He Live?

Very little is known about this man, and information about him is obscure; even his name is not believed to be Greek or Roman.  Ennion was perhaps a Phoenician or a Jew who lived and worked in the coastal region of Phoenicia in the early part of the first century AD. At first, the artisan was linked with Alexandria, Egypt, and later, with the city of Sidon.

Roman; Ennion jug; Glass by Ennion. source

Based on Pliny, Strabo, Flavius ​​Josephus, and Tacitus, Ennion worked in Sidon or its vicinity. This ancient city was a leading center of glass production and was famous for glass art in Roman times.

Master Ennion did not indicate his workshop's geographical location or the period he worked. His exquisite artistry pottery was found in Italy's various locations, especially in Adria, Cyprus, Crimea, Greece, Spain, Morocco, France, and southern Germany.

Besides, Sidon (now the third-largest city in Lebanon) was a city with many, even distant, trade connections. Many wanted to trade ceramics from Asia Minor, including those created by Ennion.

Many experts believe Ennion worked in or in Sidon's vicinity, a city located on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea in northern Palestine. His glass vessels signed by him were unearthed in Jerusalem and Syria. Near Jerusalem, ancient glassworkers could inflate hot glass to quickly and cheaply make ceramics.

Sidon has long been credited as the birthplace of the mold-blowing technique. Others have suggested that Ennion's workshop was located in Italy because most drinking cups decorated with his name were found in Italian locations.

Many glass vessels come from various archaeological excavations in the region of the Mediterranean. Another possibility is that the great glassblower started his career in the East and later moved his workshop to Italy's new location. Many show similarities to the Ennion-style but lack the master glassblower's signature – Ennion.

Therefore, we can conclude other artisans imitated his original and highly sophisticated artistry daily.

Written by – A. Sutherland  - AncientPages.com Senior Staff Writer

Updated on September 20, 2022

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