Scientists can trace changes in volcanic activity through the history of painting. When the sun or moon appears red in artworks, it often signals the presence of aerosols lingering in the stratosphere—evidence of volcanic eruptions. This visual phenomenon is observable across centuries, from medieval manuscript illustrations to the works of Edvard Munch and J.M.W. Turner.

The Lycurgus Cup, a 4th-century Roman cage cup crafted from dichroic glass, stands as one of the most extraordinary surviving examples of ancient glass-making. This glass changes colour depending on the direction and quality of light, thanks to nanoparticles of gold and silver dispersed throughout the material. The effect mirrors the way soot particles from volcanic eruptions or forest fires scatter light in the atmosphere.

Encasing the cup is a decorative cage depicting King Lycurgus entangled by a vine—the anthropomorphic form of Ambrosia, a follower of Dionysus. Dionysus, the god of wine, fertility, madness, and ecstatic ritual, is closely linked to the themes of transformation and divine frenzy. The title "Dithyramb" references the choral hymns sung in his honor. Here, it evokes a dithyrambic sun—a poetic, ecstatic response to the human attempt to capture and contain celestial light through the alchemy of dichroic glass.