Sheffield team replicates color-shifting glass from 4th-century Lycurgus Cup
A modern sculpture made from the recreated material opens at the Millennium Gallery on November 6.
By Lauren Foster ·
Dr. Lisa Hollands, a glass technician at the University of Sheffield, has successfully recreated the dichroic glass used in the Lycurgus Cup. The original artifact, dated to the 4th century CE, is one of the most complete of 40 surviving glass cage cups from that era. It is currently held by the British Museum. The glass changes color depending on how it is lit. In reflected light, it appears jade green. When light passes through it, the color shifts to ruby red.
The project began as a challenge for the university's 2025 LightFest. Christina Metcalfe, project manager for the Molecular Photonic Breadboards Project, tasked the team with reproducing the material. In 2022, an international panel of artists and conservators named the Lycurgus Cup one of the seven glass wonders of the world. That designation helped frame the scope of the new effort.
Hollands spent over 25 years studying and working with glass before taking on the task. She noted that the process was complex because it required more than simply adding nanoparticles to a base. She worked with Professor Caroline Jackson, a leading expert on Roman glass, to research historical manufacturing methods. Together, they developed a base glass using modern materials that mimicked what the Romans likely used.
The most difficult step involved introducing precise amounts of gold and silver into the mixture in the correct form. Hollands experimented with different furnace types, raw materials, and oxygen levels to find the right balance. She joked that if the Romans had watched her trials, they might have laughed and asked why she did not already know how to make it. The team eventually established a recipe that produced glass with the same visual properties as the original cup.
The initial glass piece was displayed at LightFest, an event held in Sheffield by the Molecular Photonic Breadboards project. The project is a partnership between the Universities of Sheffield and Bristol and is funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council. After the glass was successfully created, Metcalfe commissioned a contemporary sculpture to honor the original artifact.
Elliot Walker, a UK glass artist and winner of the second season of Netflix's Blown Away, was chosen for the commission. Walker described the opportunity to work with glass derived from ancient recipes as rare and exciting. He said the experience felt like shaking the hands of ancient glassmakers. His sculpture maintains a classical form and references the story of Lycurgus depicted on the original cup.
The new piece blends elements of the Lycurgus narrative with the form of the Farnese Atlas sculpture. Walker replaced the globe from the Farnese Atlas with a cup to showcase the dichroic effect. He included a blown element in the design to allow light to pass through the glass clearly. The sculpture is scheduled for public display from November 6 to 15 at the Millennium Gallery. After that period, it will move to the Turner Museum of Glass at the University of Sheffield.
Metcalfe stated that the team aimed to create a tangible object that helps the public understand how tiny nanoparticles embedded in glass create visual effects. She said the achievements of Hollands and Walker have surpassed expectations. She noted that the historic narrative captures the public imagination and hopes the piece will remain a subject of wonder for years.
