Archaeological Museum of Bologna

The "Olle" are vases with globular or ovoid body, with or without handles, made mostly in common blown glass. Latin writers described them as containers intended for domestic use, were primarily used as containers of canned fruit or to present in the table live mussels during the banquets.

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Soon, however, they also began to be used as cinerary urns in the necropolis, which is where most surviving specimens have been found. They were widespread mainly in the western provinces and in the northern Italic area, in the period from the mid-1st to the 2nd century AD, and became rarer in the 3rd century AD, when the cremation rite began to disappear.

Provenance: Palagi Collection
Datation: Mid-1st–2nd century AD
Material: Blown green glass
Dimensions: olla: height cm 23,5; cover: diam cm 13,7
Inventory #: Rom 92