Sixteen Roman mosaic glass vessel fragments, including one with green matrix and yellow canes,...

Sixteen Roman mosaic glass vessel fragments, including one with green matrix and yellow canes, 3.1cm x 2.5cm and another iridescent fragment with a green matrix and less well defined yellow canes, 3.7cm x 3.4cm; a rim section of amber and white, 3cm x 2.2cm; another with dark aubergine matrix and red and white floral canes, 1.2cm x 1.5cm; another with multi-coloured canes, 2cm x 1.6cm; a section with dark aubergine matrix with yellow canes and a green, blue and white rosette, 2.3cm x 1.8cm, two reticella bowl fragments, one with spirally twisted blue and white cane around the rim, 2cm x 1.5cm maximum; another with white matrix and dark blue and white canes, set on a section of modern glass, 3.1cm x 1.7cm, and seven other fragments, circa 1st Century B.C./A.D.; a fragmentary vessel base section of Islamic glass, the slightly domed tondo with blue star decoration outlined in brick red, 4.1cm diam of external foot, circa 14th Century A.D.; a Mughal cobalt blue glass fragment with etched foliate decoration, 2.8cm x 3.8cm; a cobalt blue glass fragment of Venetian glass with multiple blue and white canes forming a rosette, the centre surrounded by multiple miniature star-shaped petal canes, 6.8cm x 6cm, and three other mosaic glass fragments, most of the Roman glass mounted on card

(21)

Provenance: Walter Thomas Gaze Cooper (1895-1981) collection; and thence by descent to the present owner.

Walter Gaze Cooper was a prolific composer and musician, writing his first serious piece, a piano concerto, in 1923. He studied at the Royal College of Music and his many compositions included piano concertos, eight symphonies and an opera. He was a piano and theory teacher throughout his life, teaching at the Midland Conservatoire of Music.

His other great passion in life was collecting Egyptian, Chinese and Greek art and antiquities. His collection was impressive, indeed, the archaeologist, Sir Mortimer Wheeler often spoke of a rare artefact saying that 'there are only two of its kind, one in the British Museum and the other in the Gaze Cooper collection.'