09.04.26: Describing objects [12]; glass; ivory

[i] vitrum, -ī [2/n]: glass

vitrum perlūcidum: transparent glass

ē vitrō: made of glass

vitreus, -a, -um: of glass

vasa vitrea: glass vessels

vitrea, -ōrum [2/n/pl]: glassware

Pliny the Elder’s description of an excessively desgned theatre – note his comment on glass:

īma pars scaenae ē marmore fuit, media ē vitrō, inaudītō etiam posteā genere luxuriae, summa ē tabulīs inaurātīs; columnae, ut dīximus, īmae duodequadragenum pedum. signa aerea inter columnās, ut indicāvimus, fuērunt I̅I̅I̅* numerō

the lowest part of the stage was made of marble, the middle of glass, a type of luxury unheard of even afterwards (ever since that time), and the highest of gilded (wood) tablets; the lowest columns, as we have stated (mentioned above), were 38 feet (in height). The bronze statues between the columns, as we have mentioned, were three thousand in number.

*horizontal line above the number = x 1000: I̅I̅I̅ = 3,000

medullam eius concīsam in fidēliam vitream vel novam fictilem coicitō (Columella) │ throw the chopped-up marrow into a glass vessel or a new earthen one

An vidēlicet audīrem sententiās, id est vitrea frācta et somniōrum interpretāmenta? (Petronius) │ Was I to go on listening to his views, all broken bottles (vessels) and interpretation of dreams?

[ii] ebur, eboris [3/n]: ivory

signum ex ebore factum: a figure made of ivory

eburn(e)us, -a, -um: (made of) ivory

eburātus, -a, -um: adorned / inlaid with ivory

Habuit gemmāta vehicula et aurāta contemptīs argentātīs et eburātīs et aerātīs │ He had vehicles jeweled and gilded, with no regard for those plated with silver, inlaid with ivory, or decorated with bronze

gemma, -ae [1/f]: jewel; gem

gemmātus, -a, -um: adorned with jewels / precious stones

Plautus:

argentī aurīque advēxit nimium … │ He has brought a great amount of silver and gold …

lānam purpuramque multam … │ wool and purple in plenty …

lectōs eburātōs, aurātōs│ couches, adorned with ivory and gold.

Minōribus simulācrīs signīsque innumera prope artificum multitūdō nōbilitāta est, ante omnēs tamen Phīdiās Athēniēnsis Iove Olympiō factō ex ebore quidem et aurō, sed et ex aere signa fēcit (Pliny the Elder) │ An almost countless multitude of artists became famous for their smaller images and statues; yet above them all stood Phidias of Athens, who made the Olympian Jupiter, fashioned indeed of ivory and gold, but who also made statues of bronze

Images of ivory: I loathe it – as any other right-minded person does – but we’re not talking about us, we’re talking about the Romans, and they used ivory. The ivory figure is Roman although the date is uncertain.