A vase brought to Bonhams auction house in London for appraisal this year has turned out to be a spectacular example of 2,000-year-old imperial Roman cameo glass. The vase is larger and more complex than the Portland Vase in the British Museum, one of the most famous antiquities in the world.

Only 15 other Roman cameo glass vases and plaques are known to survive. The rare, luxury items were probably produced within two generations when the glass-blowing technique was in its infancy, from the late 1st century BC to the early 1st century AD.