http://hoc.elet.polimi.it/policultura/ The cage cup, called also diatreton cup is an ancient roman vessel carved in a single piece of glass and decorated by undercutting so that the surface decoration stands free from the body of the glass, supported only by struts. It was found in the XVII century in a sarcophagus near the city of Novara. In the XVIII century abbot Trivulzio acquired it from the city of Novara - that is why the cup is also called the Trivulzio cage cup. The cup raised so much interest in the citizens of Milan, that they decided to buy it in 1935, by means of a common public signing, from the Trivulzio family and now it belongs to the civic Milanese collections. it Politecnico di Milano - Italy No Laboratorio HOC, Politecnico di Milano - Italy The cage cup, called also diatreton cup is an ancient roman vessel carved in a single piece of glass and decorated by undercutting so that the surface decoration stands free from the body of the glass, supported only by struts. It was found in the XVII century in a sarcophagus near the city of Novara. In the XVIII century abbot Trivulzio acquired it from the city of Novara - that is why the cup is also called the Trivulzio cage cup. The cup raised so much interest in the citizens of Milan, that they decided to buy it in 1935, by means of a common public signing, from the Trivulzio family and now it belongs to the civic Milanese collections. 13 SEP 2006 10:43:55 +0100WED, 13 SEP 2006 10:43:55 +0100 http://www.poliarcheo.it/romana/ENG/podcast/3.mp4 http://www.poliarcheo.it/romana/ENG/podcast/3.mp4 Laboratorio HOC, Politecnico di Milano - Italy Laboratorio HOC, Politecnico di Milano - Italy The cage cup, called also diatreton cup is an ancient roman vessel carved in a single piece of glass and decorated by undercutting so that the surface decoration stands free from the body of the glass, supported only by struts. It has been found in the XVII century in a sarcophagus near the city of Novara. In the XVIII century abbot Trivulzio acquired it from the city of Novara - that is why the cup is also called the Trivulzio cage cup. The cup raised so much interest in the citizens of Milan, that they decided to buy it, by means of a common public signing, from the Trivulzio family and now it belongs to the civic Milanese collections. 13 SEP 2006 10:43:55 +0100WED, 13 SEP 2006 10:43:55 +0100 http://www.poliarcheo.it/romana/ENG/podcast/3.1.mp4 http://www.poliarcheo.it/romana/ENG/podcast/3.1.mp4 Laboratorio HOC, Politecnico di Milano - Italy Laboratorio HOC, Politecnico di Milano - Italy The cup was manufactured starting from a unique block of polychrome glass, of several colors, already mixed together blue, yellow, green. After the glass blowing, the exterior was drilled, giving the cup the aspect of being webbed by very fine glass trails. On the upper part of the cup, with prominent characters, in blue and green, there is an inscription BIBE VIVAS MULTIS ANNIS (Drink, may you live many years), a convivial wish, which let us understand that maybe the cup was a present. 13 SEP 2006 10:43:55 +0100WED, 13 SEP 2006 10:43:55 +0100 http://www.poliarcheo.it/romana/ENG/podcast/3.2.mp4 http://www.poliarcheo.it/romana/ENG/podcast/3.2.mp4 Laboratorio HOC, Politecnico di Milano - Italy Laboratorio HOC, Politecnico di Milano - Italy The term diatreton derived from the Greek diatrepho and refers to the particular technique of glass manufacturing through openwork. This antique technique consisted in the glass blowing of a vase of notable thickness, followed by the careful cutting of the exterior with a drill. That is why the vessel appears to be enclosed in an openwork cage. The technique was mastered by few glass manufacturers in the antiquity and some aspects of the manufacturing process remained a secret until our days. 13 SEP 2006 10:43:55 +0100WED, 13 SEP 2006 10:43:55 +0100 http://www.poliarcheo.it/romana/ENG/podcast/3.3.mp4 http://www.poliarcheo.it/romana/ENG/podcast/3.3.mp4 Laboratorio HOC, Politecnico di Milano - Italy Laboratorio HOC, Politecnico di Milano - Italy Due to the laborious openwork technique, not many cups have been ordered and executed in the antiquity. Moreover, very few are still undamaged, because of their fragility. Apart from the cup preserved in the museum of Milan, called the Trivulzio cup, there is only one other cup that is still undamaged. It belonged to an American family, the Maxwells, and was recently sold to an Arab emir for a large sum. Therefore the Trivulzio cup is the only entire cage cup in Europe at this time. 13 SEP 2006 10:43:55 +0100WED, 13 SEP 2006 10:43:55 +0100 http://www.poliarcheo.it/romana/ENG/podcast/3.4.mp4 http://www.poliarcheo.it/romana/ENG/podcast/3.4.mp4 Laboratorio HOC, Politecnico di Milano - Italy Laboratorio HOC, Politecnico di Milano - Italy