History overview

Following the timeline¶

One way of trying to cover the history of glass is by starting from the earliest forms of glass making, which date back to the bronze age, and then progress in chronological order to the current day. This is what is done on this page. Other pages outline glass history by region or by artistic style.

Early ages: 3000-300 BC¶

Since the bronze age, about 3000 BC, glass has been used for making all kinds of vessels and decorative objects. Early glass was made from a mixture of sand, lime and an alkali such as soda or potash. Metals were added to obtain colored glass. This mixture was heated so that it became soft and malleable. Then it could be turned in any form or shape by using one of the early glass forming techniques.

The first examples of glass objects made in this way can be traced back to Mesopotamia. From here the knowledge of glass making spread quickly to Syria, Cyprus, Egypt and the Aegean of which the Egyptian creations form the best known and preserved examples. Most of these objects date back from the 15th-13th centruy BC and - in the case of glass vessels - are made on a core of clay, which was dipped into a crucible of molten glass several times. Egyptians also used colored glass as a substitute for (semi)precious stones which could be transformed to small figurines or embedded in amulets.

During the iron age (from 1000 BC) glass making became more wide spread, largely due to commercial ventures from the greeks and romans. Escpecially bowls and flasks of various forms are found in the whole of the mediterranean area: Spain, Cyprus, Crete, Italy. But most preserved specimens of this era (1000-700 BC) originate from Assyrian and Palestinian sites.

Probably because artisans from the eastern Mediterranean migrated westwards, knowledge of glass making also spread to the emerging Iron Age cultures of Yugoslavia, southern Austria and Italy. Early glass vessels found in the Italian alps can be dated back to the 7th century BC. These were mostly small pitchers, either blue, yellow or brown in color.

The Hellenistic age: 400-30 BC¶

After Philip II, and later his son Alexander the Great, conquered the Persians and established their own empire, which embraced most of the civilized world, the east mediterranean area became the center of glass making activities. Glass from the hellenistic age is famous for various kinds of items:

• Bowls and plates cast in or over moulds, using clear translucent glass.
• Small core-formed bottles, often in dark glass decorated with painted, colorful zigzag patterns.
• Elegant lace-mosaic (reticello) bowls
• Gold-glass vessels with cut patterns of gold-leaf laminated between two blanks of colourless glass

Another invention made during this era was mosaic glass whereby small pieces of colored glass were fused together around a core. After the object had cooled down, the glass was polished until delicate internal patterns appeared. Some of these items have trailed rims formed of colored spirals (see photo) or even had gold included between the fused glass pieces.

The introduction of glass blowing¶

The first examples of blown glass date back to the first century BC and are ascribed to Syrian craftsmen. Some of these pieces are even signed by the maker. One famous for his early blown glass items is Ennion, who originally lived in Sidon, a coastal city in modern Lebanon. He moved to Rome in the second half of the last century BC. Most of the items he made were mold-blown, which means several examples of the same item have been found in the mediterranean area.

The most important change that came with blown glass was that glass items became more available for normal household use. From a product reserved for the elite few, glass entered the life of all classes, mainly due to the following reasons:

• Glass blowing increased the speed of execution.
• Because blown glass had thinner walls, less glass material was needed.
• Free blowing allowed for a wide variety of possible forms.

This does not mean that glass blowing fully replaced the early techniques of casting, pressing and fusing glass. There still remained productions of particular forms that were made by pressing the glass in a mould. Especially open forms, like bowls and dishes, were still made this way.

The roman era: 30 BC - 500 AD¶

It was in the 1st centry AD that a lot of new glass workshops opened up in various locations of the Roman empire. At first these workshops adopted the hellenistic style of brightly colored, cast vessels and lace-mosaic bowls. About halfway through the 1st century roman glass makers turned slowly to other forms and techniques, especially freely blown glass as well as blowing glass into moulds.

The 1st century also saw new types of colored glass, like black obsidian-like glass and a type of blue glass that was more opaque than the earlier hellenistic glass. The second half of the 1st century also saw the widespread use of cut glass.

At the end of the 1st century, but especially in the 2nd century AD, colored glass was more and more replaced by colorless glass. This colorless glass was more transparent than any type of glass made before and therefor allowed craftsmen to make use of the optical properties of glass, e.g. by faceting and engraving the surfaces of glass items.

Very common and well known items from this era are the so called prismatic bottles, which were made in bluish green or light green transparent glass. These were made in large quantities all over Europe and were the first affordable type of vessel that allowed the owner to inspect the bottle's contents. It was this feature that made glass exceptionally suitable for the storage, preservation and display of all kinds of commodities.

In the 2nd to 4th century AD glass making techniques were hardly altered. Fashions established late in the 1st century were continued in this era. However several new forms of decorated vessels were introduced, like the head-flask, a flask with the bowl in the form of a human head. Another example of a new style of decorative item was the snake-thread glass: a colourless or lightly coloured vessel with applied glass threads or coils.

Middle ages: 500-1200¶

After the decline of the Roman Empire in the 4th & 5th centuries AD, the craft of glass making waned in Europe. The industry continued to thrive in Iran, Iraq & Egypt. In Europe, there was a limited revival of glass making in the early 12th Century, with the development of stained glass windows for cathedrals & monasteries.

A flourishing glass industry did not develop in Europe until the end of the 13th Century, when Venice became a major glass making center. They may have picked up their glass making techniques through their contacts with the near East countries during the Crusades. The Venetian provided the link between the ancient & modern glass making arts. Venetian glass was noted for its brilliance & for its light, imaginative forms.

The venetian era: 1200-1600¶

Due to intensive trade relations between Venice and Syria, the developed glassmaking techniques of the islamic world were adopted by venetian craftsmen. Glass making in Venice, although already existing in the 8th century, really flourished in the 13th century when a number of glass blowers moved to the island of Murano. These craftsmen all belonged to a so called Arte, an artistic guild under the guidance and control of the state.

From and old Murano register it is known that the Murano guild acquired administrative independance in the year 1279. Glass houses on the island were subjected to a strict organization defined in the guild's statute called Capitulare dell'arte. Examples of the strict rules found in this statute are:

• Every glass maker on Murano should be venetian by birth.
• One should not presume work after the evening vigils bell has run at Santa Maria di Murano.
• Ducal authorization was needed for the export of broken glass and raw material from the island.
• Members who left the country were forever prevented from re-admission to the guild.
• During the annual vacation period (august-november), continuation of glass production was strictly forbidden, unless decreed by the council.

In 1427 the number of glassworks fell back to thirteen and the annual vacation was shortened to 1 month (november). Around this period one of the best known venetian craftsmen, Salvatore Barovier, left his family concern and started his own glassworks. He became famous for his invention of Cristallo, a clear, colorless type of glass without impurities. This type of glass became such a success that Barovier was even allowed to make Cristallo items during the annual vacation.

Murano's fame for glassmaking was consolidated throughout the 15th century but really came to its peak in the 16th century, which is considered the golden age of venetian glassmaking. In this period new decorative techniques were introduced, like Reticello, Zanfirico and cold painting, that define the face of Murano glass until today.

The shift to northern Europe: 1600-1700¶

The 17th century saw a shift in dominance from southern to northern Europe. As a consequence the influence of Venetian glass as a pervasive international style declined. In Holland and Germany glass enamelling and wheel engraving were more widely explored and works by Van Heemskerk (1613-1692) and Caspar Lehmann excel in pure quality of the engravings. In Bohemia a new form of glass, using potash instead of soda, was developed. This crystal clear potash-lime glass was hard and less fragile than the former soda glass.

But it was in 1675 in England that one the greatest inventions in glass history was made: the making of lead glass.

1700-1900¶

Modern glass making¶