Ennion was one of the most prominent glassworkers of

Ancient Rome In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom (753–509 B ...

, active from about 1 to 50 CE. He is famous for being the first known maker of decorated mold-blown glass, and for the exquisite quality of his work. Ennion

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ed his work by signing them. His works of art in glass (various vessels) were traded throughout the Mediterranean and were in great demand among the wealthy Romans. To date, only about fifty specimens have been preserved, which were found at various archeological sites from Spain to Israel.

Biography

Ennion probably lived and worked in the city of

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, in the province of

Roman Syria Roman Syria was an early Roman province annexed to the Roman Republic in 64 BC by Pompey in the Third Mithridatic War following the defeat of King of Armenia Tigranes the Great. Following the partition of the Herodian Kingdom of Judea into tetr ...

(today's

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). Although his name was Semitic in origin, he signed his work in Greek, the ''

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'' of the

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in his time. He is thought to have been a

Phoenicia Phoenicia () was an ancient thalassocratic civilization originating in the Levant region of the eastern Mediterranean, primarily located in modern Lebanon. The territory of the Phoenician city-states extended and shrank throughout their histor ...

n, and some scholars believe that later in life, with growing fame and demand, he moved to the north Italian city of

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, closer to

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and its markets.

Mold-blown glass

Ennion is the first known maker (and/or workshop ownerWall Street Journal, July 18–19, 2015, page C13
A Wine Jug That's Fit for a Roman Feast or a Brooklyn Banquet
/ref>) of decorated mold-blown glass, a technique based on blowing bubbles of molten glass into molds. He was renowned for producing multi-panelled mold-blown glass vessels that were complex in their shapes, arrangement and decorative motifs.Price, J. (1991). "Decorated Mould-Blown Glass Tablewares in the First Century AD". In M. Newby & K. Painter (eds.) ''Roman Glass: Two Centuries of Art and Invention''. pp. 56–75. The Society of Antiquaries of London: London Tatton-Brown, V. (1991). "The Roman Empire". In H. Tait (ed.) ''Five Thousand Years of Glass''. pp. 62–97. British Museum Press: London The complexity of designs of these mold-blown glass vessels illustrated the sophistication of the glassworkers in the eastern regions of the Roman Empire. Mold-blown glass vessels manufactured by the workshops of Ennion and other contemporary glassworkers such as Jason, Nikon, Aristeas, and Meges, constitutes some of the earliest evidence of glassblowing found in the eastern territories.Höricht, L.A.S. (1991). "Syrian Elements among the Glass from Pompeii". In M. Newby & K. Painter (eds.) ''Roman Glass: two centuries of art and invention''. pp. 76–85. The Society of Antiquaries of London: London File:Glass hexagonal amphoriskos MET DP329591.jpg, Glass hexagonal amphoriskos File:Glass cup MET DP329556.jpg, Glass cup Ennion.jpg, Glass cup ( Pavia Civic Museum) File:Glass jug MET DP121998.jpg, Glass jug File:Ennion bowl.jpg, Glass bowl ( Chrysler Museum of Art)

References

Glassblowers Ancient Roman artists 1st-century Phoenician people {{Europe-artist-stub