tour 10 of 21
The art of glass
The Lycurgus Cup
This extraordinary cup is the only complete
example of a very special type of glass, known as dichroic, which
changes colour when held up to the light. The opaque green cup
turns to a glowing translucent red when light is shone through it.
The glass contains tiny amounts of colloidal gold and silver, which
give it these unusual optical
properties.
The cup is also
the only figural example of a type of vessel known as a
'cage-cup'. The cup was made by blowing or casting
a thick glass blank. This was then cut and ground away until the
figures were left in high relief. Sections of the figures are
almost standing free and connected only by
'bridges' to the surface of the
vessel.
The scene on the
cup depicts an episode from the myth of Lycurgus, a king of the
Thracians (around 800 BC). A man of violent temper, he attacked
Dionysos
and one of his
maenads,
Ambrosia. Ambrosia called out to Mother Earth, who transformed her
into a vine. She then coiled herself about the king, and held him
captive. The cup shows this moment when Lycurgus is entrapped by
the branches of the vine, while Dionysos, a Pan and a
satyr
torment him for his evil behaviour. It has been thought that the
theme of this myth - the triumph of Dionysos over Lycurgus - might
have been chosen to refer to a contemporary political event, the
defeat of the emperor Licinius (reigned AD 308-24) by Constantine
in AD 324.