Gilded Glass Medallions (Gold Glass)

These ‘gold glass’ roundels began as the bases of drinking cups. Artisans applied gold leaf, cut designs in reserve—portraits, saints, Chi-Rho, short blessings—and fused a protective glass layer on top. Many were later cut from the vessels and cemented into catacomb tombs as markers. They preserve an intimate register of Late Antique belief: family names, simple creeds, and favorite holy figures, shimmering like coins of memory.