Multifaceted Production and Meanings of Silla Glassware

This study reexamines the production processes of Silla glassware— previously addressed only in a fragmented manner—and seeks to clarify their broader significance. Glass vessels commonly referred to as Roman glass have been excavated from Silla’s stone-mounded wooden chamber tombs, and their manufacture has traditionally been attributed to the eastern Mediterranean and the coastal regions of the North Sea. However, the increasing accumulation of chemical compositional data has raised the possibility of multiple production origins. Accordingly, this article first reviews research on glassware from the Mediterranean —the principal center of Roman glass production—and, drawing upon these comparative cases, investigates potential places of manufacture for glass excavated in Silla. The findings suggest that Silla glassware was produced across multiple regions. Honeycomb beakers were manufactured in the Mediterranean region, while bowl with cutting design appear to have been produced in Sasanian Persia using raw glass materials originally sourced from the Mediterranean. Oinochoe may have been manufactured in the area corresponding to present-day Iraq within the Sasanian cultural sphere, and beakers with trailing decoration are presumed to have been produced using glass materials originating from Bactria in present-day Afghanistan. These observations demonstrate that identifying production provenance requires distinguishing between primary production—the manufacture of raw glass—and secondary production—the fabrication of finished vessels. The analysis further emphasizes the necessity of accounting for variables such as recycling, reworking, and imitation. Through this framework, the study reveals that the production system of glassware was complex and inherently multi-layered. Rather than simply indicating multiple points of origin, such pluralistic modes of production underscore the dynamism embodied in glassware. The multifaceted production of glass suggests that the Silk Road was not merely a linear route linking East and West, but a spatial network actively shaped, maintained, and utilized by diverse groups, states, and institutions. Furthermore, the presence of Silk Road-circulated glassware in Silla stone-mounded wooden chamber tombs indicates that this extensive network extended to the easternmost reaches of Eurasia. The use of glassware also appears to have been monopolized by the Silla central authority. This pattern suggests that, within the internal and external networks centered on Silla, the ruling power held a dominant position in its interactions with external entities. At the same time, the deliberate acquisition and use of imported goods indicate an intention to express status, authority, and identity. Domestically, the Silla seems to have employed glassware as a means of differentiation from surrounding regions; externally, it likely functioned to construct and emphasize cultural distinction from Baekje.