The Lycurgus Cup — A Roman nanotechnology

Abstract

The Lycurgus Cup (fig 1) represents one of the outstanding achievements of the ancient glass industry. This late Roman cut glass vessel is extraordinary in several respects, firstly in the method of fabrication and the exceptional workmanship involved and secondly in terms of the unusual optical effects displayed by the glass. The Lycurgus Cup is one of a class of Roman vessels known as cage cups or diatreta, where the decoration is in openwork which stands proud from the body of the vessel, to which it is linked by shanks or bridges Typically these openwork “cages” comprise a lattice of linked circles, but a small number have figurative designs, although none of these is as elaborate or as well preserved as the Lycurgus Cup. Cage cups are generally dated to the fourth century A.D. and have been found across the Roman Empire, but the number recovered is small, and probably only in the region of 50-100 examples are known [1, 2]. They are among the most technically sophisticated glass objects produced before the modern era. The openwork decoration of the Lycurgus Cup comprises a mythological frieze depicting the legend of King Lycurgus from the sixth book of Homer’s Iliad. The figures, carved in deep relief, show the triumph of Dionysus over Lycurgus. However it is not only the cut-work design of the Cup that shows the high levels of skill involved in its production. The glass of the cup is dichroic; in direct light it resembles jade with an opaque greenish-yellow tone, but when light shines through the glass (transmitted light) it turns to a translucent ruby colour (Fig 1a and b). The cup was acquired by the British Museum from Lord Rothschild in 1958 (with the aid of a contribution from the National Art Collection Fund) [3]. The mythological scenes on the cup depict the death of Lycurgus, King of the Edoni in Thrace at the hands of Dionysus and his followers. A man of violent temper, Lycurgus attacked Dionysus and one of his