Cage Cups: Fancy Ancient Glass!

A cage cup, also called a 'vas diatretum', is a super special glass cup from a long, long time ago. It's like a regular cup inside, but it has a cool, lacy cage or net made of glass all around the outside! This cage isn't stuck on; it's connected by tiny glass stems. It’s like a glass sculpture you can drink from! These were the fanciest of fancy cups for rich people in the Roman times.

These cups were made by incredibly talented glass artists in the Roman Empire, around the 4th century. They were so good at making glass that these cups are called the 'pinnacle of Roman achievements in glass-making'! It was super hard to make them, and they probably cost a lot of money, like a brand-new video game console today. Only about 50 of these cups, or pieces of them, have survived.

Most cage cups have cages with patterns that look like shapes and circles, like a cool maze. Some even have words or messages written around the top! Imagine your favorite toy having a secret message on it.

Even rarer are cups with pictures of people and animals, like the famous Lycurgus Cup, which shows a story of a hero trapped in a vine. No cage cup has a foot to stand on; they were meant to be held or placed carefully.

Cage cups are special because they show how amazing ancient artists were with glass. Making that delicate cage connected to the inner cup without breaking it was incredibly difficult. Scientists are still trying to figure out exactly how they made them and how people used them. They are like ancient puzzles made of glass, showing off incredible skill and creativity from thousands of years ago.