September 29, 2025 • 13 mins
Blowing glass is just like blowing bubbles, sort of. This fish flask is used to leading a school (she is a fish, after all!) so she’ll teach you all about Roman glassblowing and ancient apprenticeships—as well as the importance of creativity and kindness.
This podcast uses episode-specific artwork. If you don’t see an image of the fish flask with this episode, you may have to turn on this setting in your podcast app.
For a listening guide, a coloring sheet, images, and more, visit getty.edu/podcasts/if-objects-could-talk/.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Announcer (00:00):
This is a Getty podcast.
Host (00:05):
Get ready to dive in with this glass flask that’s
too cool for school... aschool of fish, that is!
Welcome to If Objects CouldTalk, a podcast where art
and artifacts get to leavethe museum vault and tell
their side of the story.
Thanks for joining us as webring objects into the light!
Pop quiz (00:27):
do you have anything in your house
that is silly and seriouslyuseful at the same time?
Maybe there’s akitchen timer...that’s
shaped like an egg!
Or a key hook by the door...thatlooks like a dog’s tail!
Well, people in ancient timesalso liked making things fun
(00:50):
and functional like today’sguest: a fish-shaped flask
made to hold the era’s mostpopular condiment—fish sauce!
She was made from blownglass about one thousand,
seven hundred years agoin the Roman Empire.
I think I hear our fishyfriend swimming this way now.
(01:10):
Let’s reel her in!
Fish Flask (01:12):
Hellooooo class!
Are we ready toget creative today?
That’s one thing I loveabout museums—inspiration
is everywhere!
You could even learn alesson about learning.
[laughs] But I’mgetting ahead of things.
I haven’t evenintroduced myself yet!
(01:33):
I’m a glass flask about thesize of a grown-up’s hand.
I was made of clear greenglass almost two millennia
ago, although I’m a bitbrowner now with age.
I have the oval body ofa fish, complete with two
fins and a long, curved tailthat turns into a spout!
(01:57):
I even have a detailed face,with blobs of glass for eyes
and a mouth pinched intotwo stuck-out fish lips.
Not only am I shaped like afish, I’m also made to hold a
special fish sauce called garum.
Try dunking your friesin that next time!
(02:19):
I think it’s also prettyfunny that I’m a fish, but
I don’t come from the ocean.
Instead, I come from the shore!
The sandy shore, that is.
Can you believe that a hard,smooth, and clear material
like glass is actually madefrom gritty, granular sand?
(02:42):
Glass all startswith a pot of sand.
The sand is mixed with otheringredients like plant ash
and limestone and heated intoa mass of hot, molten glass.
This is then placed on the endof a blowpipe, which is like a
huge, heavy duty metal straw.
(03:04):
The glassblowertakes a deep breath
and blows it into the pipe.
This air travels down the tubeand into the glass, blowing it
up like a bubble or a balloon!
While the glass is still hotand malleable, the glassmaker
(03:27):
transforms it into a new shape.
Blowing glass meant glassitems could be made using
fewer materials so glassbecame something that
even middle class familiescould have in their homes.
As glassblowers had morebusiness, they could
(03:49):
try making new, morecreative things—like me!
[Sighs] It really is animpressive skill, glassblowing.
Admired by manybut learned by few.
How do you like to learn?
Today you have lots of waysto learn—from the classroom,
(04:11):
from museums, maybe even from[clears throat] wonderfully
instructive podcasts.
[Laughs] All of
these are marvelous waysto learn new things!
But for centuries, someonewho wanted to learn a
craft, like glassblowing,would become an apprentice.
(04:35):
Now that I think about it, Ibet you’ve also learned a few
things like an apprentice would!
Have you ever helped out inthe kitchen and learned how
to cook at the same time?
Or maybe you’ve learnedhow to plant vegetables by
lending a hand in the backyardor a community garden?
(04:56):
That’s how apprentices learn—bydoing, with a little help from
an expert teacher, of course!
In Ancient Rome, apprenticesreally had two jobs—one was
to learn as much as theycould, but the other was to
(05:17):
work as much as they could!
They didn’t just go totheir apprenticeship in the
morning and then go backhome in the evening like
your modern-day schools.
An apprenticeship becametheir whole lives.
Apprentices would often becomepart of their master’s family,
eating with them, sleepingin the home, and helping
(05:40):
out in the workshops, allin exchange for disciplina,
patrocinium, and nomen;
that is, the teaching ofskills, patronage, and fame.
But personally, I think thereare two more traits that go
a long way for all leaners,apprentices or otherwise:
(06:04):
creativity and kindness.
Don’t believe me?
Here’s a tale for you—afish tail, if you will!
It begins with aboy named Petronius.
Petronius loved seeing thebeautiful items made from
glass and wanted to learn theart of glassblowing himself.
(06:28):
But unfortunately forPetronius, the first day of his
apprenticeship was all chores.
[sigh] Isn’t that the worst?
The world is so full of suchwonderful things to create
and do, but to get there youmust first learn...the basics.
(06:51):
I remember how basic Iwas myself back then.
I was a drab and dull flask,no decor or whimsy to my form.
I watched from a shelfon Petronius’ first day.
He ran errands and swept trashand waited around to be noticed.
(07:12):
[sighs]
Petronius wasn’t even inthe actual workroom, yet!
You see, glass-blowing canbe a bit, well, dangerous.
At first glance, it’sa little like blowing
bubbles with a bubble wand.
A steady breath can makeglass bubble up like soap!
(07:36):
Too soft and nothing willhappen, too strong and
the bubble might pop.
The trouble is, this bubble ismade from hot, melted glass.
When it pops, it burns.
The master didn’t wantPetronius anywhere near fire
(07:57):
and molten glass until hecould take the time to teach
Petronius how to be safe.
So Petronius spent his day doingboring tasks until everyone
else went inside for dinner.
Then Petronius crept carefullyto the shelves where a dozen
(08:21):
or so of us were cooling.
He was mesmerized bythe beautiful colors of
the glittering glass.
But we all knew he shouldn’tbe in there alone...We
whispered worriedly to eachother as he came closer.
Petronius had just picked meup to examine me when a voice
(08:43):
rang out, “What are you doing!”
Well, you can imaginehow that turned out.
Me, shattered on the floor.
And Quintus, the oldestapprentice, staring coldly
across the workroom at avery ashamed Petronius.
(09:05):
Petronius was afraid hisapprenticeship was over
before it had really begun.
And I was afraid I’d beswept into the trash!
But then Quintus did somethingthat surprised us both.
You see, there’s somethingvery special about glass.
(09:26):
It can be recycled!
Glass can be melted down andmade into something brand new!
Maybe you’ve helped sort glassinto the recycling bin at home.
But did you know thereare other things you can
do to prevent waste, too?
(09:46):
You can re-use items
artistically!
Maybe not anything asdramatic as broken glass.
Let’s leave handling sharpobjects to the experts!
I’ve got anotherassignment in mind for you.
Think about what’saround your home.
(10:08):
Got any used-uptoilet paper rolls?
I bet they’d love their nextlife as a pair of binoculars!
Or perhaps some musicallyinclined tin cans could
really shine as a wind chime.
Or maybe there’s an oldt-shirt that’s ready to
(10:31):
be remade into a tote-bag.
It can be scary, turninginto something new, but
I’ll always be grateful forthe second chance I got.
Now, where were we?
Oh, yes.
Broken pieces of meall across the floor.
First, Petronius sweptup my glass shards.
(10:56):
Then Quintus took over,re-melting me into a scorching
ball of molten glass.
It was hot enough to burnyour skin, but to me, it felt
like a nice evening bath.
Relaxing!
(11:17):
Petronius watched closely,asking question after question.
Quintus thought, “why not showPetronius the many tricks of the
trade and get a little creativetoo!” Quintus inflated me into
a little glass ball, all puffedup like I was holding my breath!
(11:40):
Then he let me deflate a bit,so I became a little flatter.
Next, Quintus trailedmolten glass around my body
and tail to make stripes,
added dabs for the eyes,and pinched two fishy
(12:01):
lips into existence.
Finally, as he clipped mefrom the blow pipe, he let the
spout part of me tip upwards abit, like the tail of a fish.
Yes, he made a charmingand artistic fish flask,
if I do say so myself.
(12:23):
Both Petronius and Quintusbecame masters in their time,
with apprentices of their own.
But Petronius never forgotmy first teaching moment
in the kindness Quintusshowed him, or the way that
Quintus had turned a mistakeinto something marvelous.
(12:44):
That’s a real artist,if you ask me.
I bet you can do it, too!
Think about it the nexttime you see something
destined for the trash heap.
With a little imagination,maybe you could make it
even better than before!
Host (13:07):
I hope you enjoyed learning about glassblowing
and apprenticeships!
Join us next time whena household god graces
us with his presence.
To see photographs of thefish flask and learn more,
visit our website at Gettydot edu slash podcasts.
This episode was writtenby Claire Hupy and
(13:29):
produced by Zoe Goldman.
Katie Jostock voiced the fish.
Theme music, mixing and sounddesign by Alexandra Kalinowski.
Christopher Sprinkleis executive producer.
Special thanks to curatorsKen Lapatin, Judith
Barr, and Hana Sugioka.
Catch you next time!
This is a Getty podcast.
Host (00:05):
Get ready to dive in with this glass flask that’s
too cool for school... aschool of fish, that is!
Welcome to If Objects CouldTalk, a podcast where art
and artifacts get to leavethe museum vault and tell
their side of the story.
Thanks for joining us as webring objects into the light!
Pop quiz (00:27):
do you have anything in your house
that is silly and seriouslyuseful at the same time?
Maybe there’s akitchen timer...that’s
shaped like an egg!
Or a key hook by the door...thatlooks like a dog’s tail!
Well, people in ancient timesalso liked making things fun
(00:50):
and functional like today’sguest: a fish-shaped flask
made to hold the era’s mostpopular condiment—fish sauce!
She was made from blownglass about one thousand,
seven hundred years agoin the Roman Empire.
I think I hear our fishyfriend swimming this way now.
(01:10):
Let’s reel her in!
Fish Flask (01:12):
Hellooooo class!
Are we ready toget creative today?
That’s one thing I loveabout museums—inspiration
is everywhere!
You could even learn alesson about learning.
[laughs] But I’mgetting ahead of things.
I haven’t evenintroduced myself yet!
(01:33):
I’m a glass flask about thesize of a grown-up’s hand.
I was made of clear greenglass almost two millennia
ago, although I’m a bitbrowner now with age.
I have the oval body ofa fish, complete with two
fins and a long, curved tailthat turns into a spout!
(01:57):
I even have a detailed face,with blobs of glass for eyes
and a mouth pinched intotwo stuck-out fish lips.
Not only am I shaped like afish, I’m also made to hold a
special fish sauce called garum.
Try dunking your friesin that next time!
(02:19):
I think it’s also prettyfunny that I’m a fish, but
I don’t come from the ocean.
Instead, I come from the shore!
The sandy shore, that is.
Can you believe that a hard,smooth, and clear material
like glass is actually madefrom gritty, granular sand?
(02:42):
Glass all startswith a pot of sand.
The sand is mixed with otheringredients like plant ash
and limestone and heated intoa mass of hot, molten glass.
This is then placed on the endof a blowpipe, which is like a
huge, heavy duty metal straw.
(03:04):
The glassblowertakes a deep breath
and blows it into the pipe.
This air travels down the tubeand into the glass, blowing it
up like a bubble or a balloon!
While the glass is still hotand malleable, the glassmaker
(03:27):
transforms it into a new shape.
Blowing glass meant glassitems could be made using
fewer materials so glassbecame something that
even middle class familiescould have in their homes.
As glassblowers had morebusiness, they could
(03:49):
try making new, morecreative things—like me!
[Sighs] It really is animpressive skill, glassblowing.
Admired by manybut learned by few.
How do you like to learn?
Today you have lots of waysto learn—from the classroom,
(04:11):
from museums, maybe even from[clears throat] wonderfully
instructive podcasts.
[Laughs] All of
these are marvelous waysto learn new things!
But for centuries, someonewho wanted to learn a
craft, like glassblowing,would become an apprentice.
(04:35):
Now that I think about it, Ibet you’ve also learned a few
things like an apprentice would!
Have you ever helped out inthe kitchen and learned how
to cook at the same time?
Or maybe you’ve learnedhow to plant vegetables by
lending a hand in the backyardor a community garden?
(04:56):
That’s how apprentices learn—bydoing, with a little help from
an expert teacher, of course!
In Ancient Rome, apprenticesreally had two jobs—one was
to learn as much as theycould, but the other was to
(05:17):
work as much as they could!
They didn’t just go totheir apprenticeship in the
morning and then go backhome in the evening like
your modern-day schools.
An apprenticeship becametheir whole lives.
Apprentices would often becomepart of their master’s family,
eating with them, sleepingin the home, and helping
(05:40):
out in the workshops, allin exchange for disciplina,
patrocinium, and nomen;
that is, the teaching ofskills, patronage, and fame.
But personally, I think thereare two more traits that go
a long way for all leaners,apprentices or otherwise:
(06:04):
creativity and kindness.
Don’t believe me?
Here’s a tale for you—afish tail, if you will!
It begins with aboy named Petronius.
Petronius loved seeing thebeautiful items made from
glass and wanted to learn theart of glassblowing himself.
(06:28):
But unfortunately forPetronius, the first day of his
apprenticeship was all chores.
[sigh] Isn’t that the worst?
The world is so full of suchwonderful things to create
and do, but to get there youmust first learn...the basics.
(06:51):
I remember how basic Iwas myself back then.
I was a drab and dull flask,no decor or whimsy to my form.
I watched from a shelfon Petronius’ first day.
He ran errands and swept trashand waited around to be noticed.
(07:12):
[sighs]
Petronius wasn’t even inthe actual workroom, yet!
You see, glass-blowing canbe a bit, well, dangerous.
At first glance, it’sa little like blowing
bubbles with a bubble wand.
A steady breath can makeglass bubble up like soap!
(07:36):
Too soft and nothing willhappen, too strong and
the bubble might pop.
The trouble is, this bubble ismade from hot, melted glass.
When it pops, it burns.
The master didn’t wantPetronius anywhere near fire
(07:57):
and molten glass until hecould take the time to teach
Petronius how to be safe.
So Petronius spent his day doingboring tasks until everyone
else went inside for dinner.
Then Petronius crept carefullyto the shelves where a dozen
(08:21):
or so of us were cooling.
He was mesmerized bythe beautiful colors of
the glittering glass.
But we all knew he shouldn’tbe in there alone...We
whispered worriedly to eachother as he came closer.
Petronius had just picked meup to examine me when a voice
(08:43):
rang out, “What are you doing!”
Well, you can imaginehow that turned out.
Me, shattered on the floor.
And Quintus, the oldestapprentice, staring coldly
across the workroom at avery ashamed Petronius.
(09:05):
Petronius was afraid hisapprenticeship was over
before it had really begun.
And I was afraid I’d beswept into the trash!
But then Quintus did somethingthat surprised us both.
You see, there’s somethingvery special about glass.
(09:26):
It can be recycled!
Glass can be melted down andmade into something brand new!
Maybe you’ve helped sort glassinto the recycling bin at home.
But did you know thereare other things you can
do to prevent waste, too?
(09:46):
You can re-use items
artistically!
Maybe not anything asdramatic as broken glass.
Let’s leave handling sharpobjects to the experts!
I’ve got anotherassignment in mind for you.
Think about what’saround your home.
(10:08):
Got any used-uptoilet paper rolls?
I bet they’d love their nextlife as a pair of binoculars!
Or perhaps some musicallyinclined tin cans could
really shine as a wind chime.
Or maybe there’s an oldt-shirt that’s ready to
(10:31):
be remade into a tote-bag.
It can be scary, turninginto something new, but
I’ll always be grateful forthe second chance I got.
Now, where were we?
Oh, yes.
Broken pieces of meall across the floor.
First, Petronius sweptup my glass shards.
(10:56):
Then Quintus took over,re-melting me into a scorching
ball of molten glass.
It was hot enough to burnyour skin, but to me, it felt
like a nice evening bath.
Relaxing!
(11:17):
Petronius watched closely,asking question after question.
Quintus thought, “why not showPetronius the many tricks of the
trade and get a little creativetoo!” Quintus inflated me into
a little glass ball, all puffedup like I was holding my breath!
(11:40):
Then he let me deflate a bit,so I became a little flatter.
Next, Quintus trailedmolten glass around my body
and tail to make stripes,
added dabs for the eyes,and pinched two fishy
(12:01):
lips into existence.
Finally, as he clipped mefrom the blow pipe, he let the
spout part of me tip upwards abit, like the tail of a fish.
Yes, he made a charmingand artistic fish flask,
if I do say so myself.
(12:23):
Both Petronius and Quintusbecame masters in their time,
with apprentices of their own.
But Petronius never forgotmy first teaching moment
in the kindness Quintusshowed him, or the way that
Quintus had turned a mistakeinto something marvelous.
(12:44):
That’s a real artist,if you ask me.
I bet you can do it, too!
Think about it the nexttime you see something
destined for the trash heap.
With a little imagination,maybe you could make it
even better than before!
Host (13:07):
I hope you enjoyed learning about glassblowing
and apprenticeships!
Join us next time whena household god graces
us with his presence.
To see photographs of thefish flask and learn more,
visit our website at Gettydot edu slash podcasts.
This episode was writtenby Claire Hupy and
(13:29):
produced by Zoe Goldman.
Katie Jostock voiced the fish.
Theme music, mixing and sounddesign by Alexandra Kalinowski.
Christopher Sprinkleis executive producer.
Special thanks to curatorsKen Lapatin, Judith
Barr, and Hana Sugioka.
Catch you next time!
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