Sep
24
Antique Bohemian Glass
September 24, 2009 | Leave a Comment
England
By 1567 Jean Carre had arrived in London from the Lorraine by way of
Antwerp and commenced making window glass by the Lorraine method
under licence. Several Continental glassmaking families had already
settled in England. The Schurterres in the 14th, the Peytowes in the 15th,
and in the mid-16th century the famous Huguenot families ofTyxach
(du Thisac), Henvey (de Hennezel), Tittery (de Thietry) and Hoc (de
Houx) arrived to lay the foundation of the Stourbridge glass industry.
Carre obtained his licence for making cristallo d la facon de Venise at
the Crutched Friars Hall, a glasshouse which apparently was already in
existence in 1564 or 1565, though seemingly not particularly efficient.
Carre therefore sent for Venetian craftsmen, among them thei great
glassmaker Jacopo Verzelini, who supposedly arrived in London from
Antwerp in 1571. There are sources which indicate that he may already
have arrived in 1565 and initiated the manufacture of Venetian cristallo,
and this opens an interesting field of speculation as to the merits of Jean
Carre’s role in the manufacture of cristallo at this early period. Suffice
to say that in 1572, after Carre’s death, Verzelini was the master: of the
Crutched Friars glasshouse, and in 1574 he obtained a Royal Patent
from Elizabeth I to manufacture Venice glasses for a period of 2 lj years.
Of the dozen or so glasses associated with Verzelini today, about nine
can be attributed to his London glasshouse. The earliest, dated 1577, is
in the Corning Museum, New York. Typical features are the stejri with
hollow mould-brown knop or bulb, bowl of ample size, and of clear,
faintly greenish or greyish metal. Diamond engraving in the hatched
Italian style is associated with Anthony de Lisle who had come to England
from the ‘Dominions of the King of France’ and applied for citizenship
in 1597. A lozenge motif on the bowl and sometimes foot, scrolU, floral
sections, friezes of trees, stags and hounds and commemorative inscrip-
tions seem typical of de Lisle’s work. Occasionally, Verzelini’s (glasses
are decorated by enamelling or gilding, but this has worn badly. Glasses
made at the same period in Hall, in the Tyrol, are in some instances so
similar to Verzelini’s work that they might have been produced in his
glasshouse, and bear testimony to the communication and exchange
between glassmakers throughout Europe.
Despite malicious acts by jealous merchants and importers, Verzelini
led the industry until his retirement in 1592, and thus initiated the era
of monopolies. Sir Jerome Bowes held the monopoly until 1604, when
the licence was sold by one profiteer to another.
Bohemia and the German-speaking Land
Silesia, Moravia and Bohemia are the areas involved in Czech
gl ssmaking. In common with the Rhenish product, the greenish bubbly
Waldglas appears in traditional forms. The beaker with applied prunts
-. hppenbecher - appears in various modifications: the Igel (Hedgehog)
with prickles, and the tall Krautstrunk (cabbage stalk) covered with
pc ipted prunts in circular arrangement. The antique sprinkler emerges
as the Angster or Kuttrolf with bulbous body and long, slightly twisted
glass tubes. The Maigelein (a low cup) still appeared in the 15th century.
C( njnmon vessel forms are the Humpen, a tall cylindrical glass of giant
pr )jportion, the Passglas and the Stangenglas, of narrow cylindrical form
applied hollow foot.
ith the expansion of the German mining industry, fuel costs rose
steeply and in the 16th century a number of small glasshouses and in-
dividual glassmakers moved to Bohemia and Silesia where conditions
wire more favourable. The big landowners and nobility were quick to
realize the advantages of possessing large tracts of forest land. They
began to set up glasshouses on their estates, attracting glassmakers and
their families by granting special privileges - a development paralleled
in France.
Baroque and Rococo prosperity, the support by the Church of artisans
ard artists, and the monastic activities of winemaking and ale brewing
al encouraged an expansion in drinking glass manufacture. This in turn
pr Miferated enamelled decoration of a most fascinating kind which
lie urished particularly during the 17th and early 18th centuries. Scenes
from the domestic and political life of the nobility and of influential
arlikans or tradesmen, Biblical subjects, representation of the ‘Seven
Ages of Man’, the double-headed eagle (Reichsadler) with armorial
shields of all embracing lands, and entire families and family trees are
enchantingly represented in a refreshing rustic style. Emblems of Trades
ds and scenic representations, as for instance the Ochsenkopf, a
ntain in the Fichtelgebirge, frequently have added inscriptions and
hiit easy identification. Small beakers, straight or everted at the rim,
rated with brightly enamelled heraldic motifs are usually ascribed
axonian manufacture.
the beginning of the 16th century, increasing quantities of silver were
be ng mined in Germany, Austria and Hungary. The mines of India and
th: Americas further increased the supply. This coincided with a turbu-
lei t period in Italy, when in 1526 Rome was sacked, and the consequent
di persal of artists carried ideas to other centres, both in Northern Italy
and beyond. Rulers all over Europe now began to vie with each other in
the culture and the magnificence of their courts, setting themselves up as
pa Irons and collectors in the manner of 15th-century Italian princes and
embracing the new style learnt from Italy, which everywhere gradually
16th-century stangenglas decorated with
prunts, late 16th century.
Gold and Silver
drove out Gothic motifs in favour of classical decoration.
Court artists were employed to create designs for goldsmiths to follow,
an arrangement which can occasionally be detected in the unsuitability
of a design for the material in which it is nevertheless superbly executed.
Important centres of goldsmiths’ work at this time were Paris, Awgsburg
and Nuremberg. But as the artists who worked in these and other centres
came from all over Europe and used designs by Court artists such as
Guilio Romano, J. A. Ducereau, Hans Holbein and Cornells Floris -
which were subsequently engraved and passed round lesser workshops
- it is difficult to detect any particularly national flavour in work of this
period.
The power and prestige of Hapsburg Spain (which also included the
Kingdom of Naples) and of the Hapsburg Holy Roman Empire, with a
sphere of influence which stretched from Antwerp across Europe to
Prague, was enhanced by Spanish control over the rich imports of bullion
from the New World into Andalusia. Much of the treasure coming into
the Iberian peninsula was used to make objects for ecclesiastical use.
Gold brought back from India by Vasco daGama, who first rounded the
Cape of Good Hope in 1497, was used to make a monstrance. Although
the goldsmiths of southern Spain were the first to receive the increased
supplies of gold, silver and precious stones, it was not until the 1570s
that a national Spanish style evolved out of the varied work that had
previously been carried on in the many regional centres. From the 1570s,
however, the richness and austerity associated with Philip II’s building
of the Escorial continued to be associated with silver, until the baroque
style emerged in the next century. In the greater part of Europe tl e clarity
of Italian Renaissance forms gradually became obscured because
Northern artists, frightened of empty spaces, tended to overload a
design with detail. At the same time, a complete mastery of his craft by
the goldsmith led to ever greater display of virtuosity. Wenzel Ji mnitzer
of Nuremberg (1508-85), for example, is renowned in part for his
dazzling technique, learnt from Paduan artists.
Jamnitzer’s earliest surviving work is the ‘Merckelsche’ tabe-centre
now in the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. The piece is a remarkable
example of many of the goldsmith’s techniques - embossing, erjgraving,
enamelling and so on, as well as an example of Jamnitzer’s penchant for
casts of insects, reptiles and grasses. His other surviving pieces include
a nautilus shell set in silver gilt, c. 1570 and the Kaiserpokal or Imperial
cup, made in 1564, which is less elaborate than many of his table-centres
and has a statuette of Emperor Maximilian II on the lid.
Benvenuto Cellini (1500-71) is probably the most famous of all gold-
smiths, although our knowledge of his actual skill is entirely reliant on
his only surviving piece, the famous salt-cellar made for Francois I of
France and now in the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna.
Sometimes overshadowed by Cellini is the Italian goldsmith Antonio
Gentili (1519-1609), who is best known for the magnificent cjross and
accompanying pair of candlesticks in silver gilt made for Cardinal
Alessandro Farnese who gave them to St Peter’s in Rome in 1682. The
set is still used on the high altar on special occasions. The influence of
Michelangelo on the architectural and figurative elements of these pieces
irly visible. The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York has in
iijssession a silver knife, fork and spoon which it is thought may be
ily other Gentili work now remaining. The evidence for the
irship of these pieces is a drawing of a spoon, also in the possession
of the museum, which is almost identical to the existing spoon and
which is signed by Gentili. In addition, the elaborate handles in classical
motifs correspond to descriptions of Gentili’s work by his biographer
(iiovanni Baglione.
Between 1515 and 1523, Enrique de Arfe (1470-1545) made a custodia
a Spanish portable tabernacle lor I oledo Cathedral which has been
desc ribed as ‘the last word in Gothic ecclesiastical silver’. It stands some
3 met es (III ft) high, weighs more than 3 hundredweight and is adorned
wi th 26 ) statuettes scattered amongst Gothic arches and pinnacles. De
Arft was born in the village of Harff in the Rhineland, from which he
takes his name. He trained in Cologne and went to Spain before the turn
ol the century. His earliest known CUStodia, which is also his first known
wor was made for the Abbey ol San Benito at Sahagiin. A custodia he
leted in 1518 for Cordova Cathedral can still be seen, unlike a ten
ligh custodia he made for L6on Cathedral which was destroyed in
to help pay for the war against Napoleon.
fique was succeeded by his son Antonio whose first recorded
pa was for the Cathedral of Santiago di Compostella, begun in
15391 and finished in 1545.
In politically restless Northern Italy, a style of decoration evolved
from the beginning of the 1520s in which interlacing leather-like straps,
ending in curls resembling wood shavings, were used at first to frame,
then to decorate and finally to dominate interior decoration. This strap-
work was pushed to its extreme in designs for metalwork and all through
the oth century its influence was felt throughout northern Europe. Its
nervous uneasiness was allied with grotesques derived from late 15th
century Italian revivals of Imperial Roman decoration. Mannerist
designers continued to use Renaissance decorative ideas, but gradually
the stylish way in which a theme was expressed became more important
die theme itself. To express an idea in una bclla maniera, to use the
current phrase, could become the only goal of an impoverished
and brilliant technique might slickly embody a worn out theme.
Clocks
11 seems likely that the first successful spring was not made before the
last auarter of the 15th century, the problem lying in making a spring of
sufficient power that would continue to drive a clock without breaking.
Brass was probably the material of choice lor the fust Springs. One of
the I rst difficulties that the inventor would have faced is that as the spring
nds it gradually loses power, driving the clock unevenly. Two solu-
to this problem were eventually found - the stackfreed and the fusee.
Sep
24
Antique and Collectible Embroidery
September 24, 2009 | Leave a Comment
It was customary for the royal courts of Europe to employ professional
embroiderers to work heraldic insignia and all kinds of furnishings. The
church was also a lavish patron, and although some work was done in
n onasteries and convents, the best and most valued was made by pro-
f( fconal specialists. From early on ‘the labours of the distaff and needle’
re considered of prime importance for ladies all over Europe, and
spinning, weaving and fine needlework formed an important part of
eyery girl’s education prior to her marriage.
In the medieval period the finest of all embroidery was the ecclesiastical
work produced in England. Opus Anglicanum, as it was called, was
w arked with coloured silks and couched gold and silver threads, and the
designs - of saints, angels and heraldic motifs - have close parallels in
tl e manuscript illumination of the time. Opus Anglicanum was exported
t( Europe on a large scale, and although France, Germany and Flanders
produced embroidered vestments of a similar style, their quality rarely
matched the fine work which came out of the ateliers of London and
East Anglia.
The ground for most of these embroiderers was twill-weave, silk-lined
w iih linen. Velvet was used from the early 14th century instead of linen.
Other grounds used included samit, taffeta, camoca (a combination of
fi le camel hair and silk) and, from the 14th century, satin. Some of the
most common Opus Anglicanum stitches include Opus conscutum -
applique, Opus phrygium - gold work. Opus anglicanum stitch - split
Border motif from vestments of St Thomas
of Canterbury c.1200-50.
Embroidery
stitch, and Opus pectineum - woven or combed work.
Inventories and accounts from the Vatican are a valuable soiirce of
information on Opus Anglicanum, for it was favourite with man} Popes
and the bulk of Vatican embroideries of this time were of this kind Many
of the best examples of this work are ecclesiastical vestments and one of
the finest copes now remaining is the Syon Cope in the Victoria and
Albert Museum. A study of the copes of the whole medieval period has
revealed that there were three distinct periods in the evolution of Opus
Anglicanum.
The earliest period is from 1250 to 1275 and the principal features of
the designs are saints or Biblical events enclosed by a medallion. Group-
ings are arranged in concentric circles. Few examples of this period now
survive.
The second period is from 1275 to about 1325 and the Syon Cope was
made at this time. Rather than being confined by circles, the figures and
scenes in the design are ringed by Romanesque quatrefoils sometimes
interlaced. Another surviving cope of this period is the Daroca Cope in
the Museo Arqueologico, Madrid.
The last period occupies the remainder of the 14th century. Figures
now stand under Gothic arches and the scenes are separated by cc lumns.
The finest Opus Anglicanum comes from this period.
Chasubles have also survived and a typical example in the Victoria
and Albert Museum is in red brocade with scenes from the life o “Christ
with saints standing under Gothic arches. Mitres were embroicered in
Opus Anglicanum though only fragments have survived, such as the
remains of one belonging to Bishop William of Wykeham (1367 -1404),
now in New College, Oxford. The embroidery used both silvei thread
and gems.
The Victoria and Albert Museum also has an altar frontal fiom the
late 14th century. Worked on a ground of crimson velvet, the fig ires are
appliqued in gold, silver and coloured thread and surround the cruci-
fixion scene. Palls have survived in greater numbers, many of which are
in the possession of London livery companies such as the Vintn :rs\ the
Saddlers’ and the Fishmongers’ Companies.
The quality of Opus Anglicanum work began to decline during the
15th century, although a magnificent pall belonging to the Fishmongers’
Company which, it seems, could not have been made before 1 536, has
suggested to some experts that the age of Opus Anglicanum might be
extended by a hundred years.
Although the emphasis in 14th and 15th century Europe was on
ecclesiastical embroidery, there was at the same time a growing use of
domestic embroidery. Woven tapestries, for example, were
portance in furnishing the draughty castles and houses of the rich, and
embroidered bed hangings were also invaluable in the cold wmters of
northern Europe.
There was an increasing use of embroidery for costume and personal
adornment. Much of this, whether it took the form of fine linefi under-
garments or the embroidered and bejewelled purses for which
was famous in the 15th and 16th centuries, was done domestically as
well as by professional and religious embroiderers.
i has been used by men for tools and weapons for hundreds of
inds of years. Man made knives, axes and spears in great quantities.
heads were expendable and were produced in particularly large
^ers and, consequently, are still readily available at quite reasonable
Generally speaking, the earlier ones are cruder and lack finish,
while those of the Neolithic period are polished and well shaped. Many
arc barbed and most have a short neck which was used to secure the
head to the wood or reed shaft. Main primitive cultures continued to
manufacture arrow heads of Hint long after metal had replaced its use
for other weapons. Some Red Indians of North America and the
Abdrigines of Australia were still making them at the beginning of this
centur\
Flint is brittle and is unsuitable for constructing long blades, so swords
of Hint were not practical. When man discovered the secret ol melting
tin nd copper together to make bronze he was able to cast a greater
varie y of weapons in moulds of clay or stone. Axeheads. daggers,
aire ws and spear heads and swords were produced all over Europe and
sufficient have survived to ensure that some still appear on the market:
swords are likely to be the rarest and most expensive. Many of the
bronzes available today are from Luristan in Asia Minor, and are
generally of good quality although unfortunately a number of very good
copies have begun to appear so care when buying is essential.
By the 1st century A.D. iron had largely supplanted bronze as the
metal for weapons. While iron was better for manufacture it was fjar less
able to survive the centuries. Bronze could resist rust and rot, ironl could
not and swords dating from the 1st century until the 15th century are
extremely rare and very early examples are likely to be little morje than
masses of blackened rust. The few good quality examples whic|i have
survived will certainly be very expensive.
Probably one of the most ancient of all edged weapons was the g
or guisarme which receives frequent mention from the 12th
17th century in Europe and was a form of long-headed axe thjat ter-
minated in a sharp, strong point. A little way down the blade a flattened
hook projected. In medieval times it was known as a fauchard
towards the end of the 15th century it is possible that the term “gisarme’
was used to describe the halberd.
The halberd seems to have been of Swiss origin and the first mention
of it occurs in 1287, although it was not introduced into Fran
England until the end of the 14th century. It appeared in various:
as basically an axe-blade surmounted by a spike and balanced by
a si 6rt fluke at the rear of the blade. By the end of the 15th century the
blade had undergone several changes through oblong and horizontally
wit er to crescent-shaped on some examples.
1 lie great age of the pike began in the late 15th century and lasted until
the 17th century. A simple weapon, the pike consists of a long, narrow,
lanpe-like head of steel with lengths of metal running from the head
down the pole to protect the latter from sword strikes. At the other end
of he pole an iron shoe or point protected the pole base when it was
stu k in the ground to resist cavalry attacks. Other edged staff weapons
in Use in the 15th century included the partisan - usually a long double-
edged blade, wide at the base where it was provided with projections of
various kinds. The Ranseur and the Spetum were variations on the
par isan.
1 he Voulge was very similar to the gisarme and originated in Switzer-
lan The Bill was one of the commonest weapons of the foot-soldier and
wa; derived from the agricultural scythe and so had a crescent-shaped
heal the inside of which was sharpened while a section of the top of the
blade was double-edged. Variants often had the top of the blade dividing
into a spike and forward curved hook. The Bill was particularly popular
in England. The Glaive had the cutting edge on the opposite side to that
on he Bill and had hooks and spurs near the base of the blade.
Until the first half of the 15th century the lance was simply a wooden
staff some 3-4.25 metres (13-14 ft) long, fitted with a lozenge- or leaf-
shaped blade. During the 14th century jousting lances began to be fitted
wit l a circular hand-guard or vanplatc.
Generally the medieval sword had a long, straight blade, usually
doi $le-edged, fitted with a simple cruciform cross guard, a leather
co\ ejred grip and a counter-balance weight (the pommel) at the end of
the grip. These swords were essentially slashing weapons designed to
ha< k at armour and mail and some were made big enough to be gripped
with two hands. One, known as a hand-and-half, was small enough to
be (ised in one hand but with a grip big enough to hold with both hands
to deliver a very powerful blow. A larger version, the two-handed sword,
was so large that it could only be used with a two-handed grip.
Very few swords and daggers dating from the 12th—15th centuries
ap ear on the market, but those dating from the 16th century onwards
are more readily available.
It is not surprising that the Renaissance, which was in part a revival of
clas jjcal culture, had its origins in Italy, the heart of the old Roman
Empire. Since the new movement represented a change in human
attitudes towards the world it made its first appearance in literature and
then spread to architecture, sculpture and painting, from where it in-
fluenced all the decorative arts. The Italian Renaissance is divided into
threjeperiods: Early, 1400-1500; High, 1500-40; and Late, 1540-1600.
Throughout the 15th century a spirit of research which accompanied
the new reflections on the world, led to the rediscovery of classical
worp of literature and the excavations of the archeological remains of
the Roman Empire. With every new discovery the artist was provided
witl further inspiration and stimulus to advance the state of his art to
ever greater heights. Of particular importance was the rediscovery of
Dc Architectura, which were the manuscripts of the Roman architect
Vitruvius who worked in the reign ol Augustus, and the exca\ation of
the Baths of Titus and the Golden Home of Nero in Rome in 1488.
In! 1485 Leon Battista Alberti published his Ten Books on Architecture
(De\te aedificatoria) which was a masterly synthesis of Vitruvius’
principles and much original material by Alberti himself. He advocated
a system of ideal proportions in architectural design, believing that the
ation of mathematical ratios to building was in itself beauty-
cing. Alberti thus made a significant break with all his predecessors
e visible result was a clean, dignified and stately style in which the
tion was primarily columns and pilasters.
Sep
24
Antique Glass: Early glass centres
September 24, 2009 | Leave a Comment
Libyan desert glass and Darwin glass. These are
glassy pebbles found in many parts of the world and are thought to be
the weathered remains of prehistoric meteorites. Another form of natural
glass, utilized by earlier civilizations in toolmaking, is obsidian - a
material of volcanic origin and produced by the rapid cooling of viscous
lava. Quartz is pure silica and all types of quartz are related to natural
glass. However, nearest in appearance to the man-made product is rock
crystal, named from the Greek crysiallos - clear ice. Mined in areas all
ove the world, it has long been cherished as a precious material suitable
lor all kinds of artefacts. Stone cutters (lapidaries) delighted in working
with this substance, and the technique of rock crystal cutting represents
one of the most important aspects of glass decoration.
Glasshouses will obviously be located where raw materials are acces-
sible and of satisfactory quality. In Mediterranean regions, the essential
sodi would be obtained from certain types of seaweed although, if neces-
sary, some raw materials could be procured from a distant source. The
forest glasshouses would replace the soda of southern tradition by
polish derived from woodash. The quality of sand the source of silica
is of great importance to the glassmaker since impurities affect the
glass colour and finality. A most important addition lo the glass batch
is cullet. waste pieces of glass which used to be collected by children and
poo ■ families who sold them back to the glasshouse. To form the glass
frit i frittare to fry), the cullet and raw materials are ground, ready for
melting in the furnace. Glass is a supercooled liquid. It has no crystalline
structure and passes into a viscous fluid on heating, without a definite
melting point. I hree stages are required for heating the frit, beginning
with placing it into the melting pot. a preheated refractor) crucible which
stands in the furnace. The resultant viscous mass is then ready for the
Glass unguent jat dating from the 1st to
3rd centuries found in Syria.
refining stage, during which the pot melt is increased to a
of 1,600°C (2,912°F), when the frit becomes a thin liquid
bubbles which give off undesirable gases and water vapour,
rising to the surface are skimmed off with the ladle. Lastly, the I
be cooled so that by returning to its former viscosity it will be
for working at a temperature of about 700 to 800°C (1,290 to 1
It may now be shaped by blowing, moulding, pressing or
will remain ductile for about 20 minutes. If a longer working)
required, the mass can be kept pliable by brief refining at the
mouth. This procedure is also used to polish the finished glass!
called fire polish. To reduce internal stresses which may result
glass cracking or breaking, the shaped article must be placec
special annealing oven or lehr, at a carefully controlled lempe
By the 18th century, the slightly elliptical glasshouse with its
chimney cone had become a familiar landmark. An English]
Parliament decreed that to enable waste smoke to drift away,
chimneys were to have a height of at least 15.24 metres (50 ft),
were built much taller.
Glasshouse pots are made by hand and need special treatment!,
to remain in a heating chamber from four to eight months before
tested for additional periods at very high temperatures. Neve
these pots are serviceable only for a period of up to three months
because glass attacks the clay. Potsetting is one of the most
tasks even under modern factory conditions. The men receive!
pay for this work and there is a tradition of free beer as well.
The glassmaker’s tools and techniques are as old as Chri
although glass was probably made at least 4,000 years ago. The
made its appearance about the first century A.D. It is a tube
iron, with a thickened end to gather the molten glass and is pro
handling points by a wooden covering. The lump of glass,
paraison, may be taken from the pot with the blowing iron orj
rod, the pontil. The pontil is used for drawing out the glass and
rough mark where it is broken off, the so-called pontil mark,
and large shears are used for cutting off parts such as rims, and,
and a wooden Upper are needed for shaping.
The rake and ladle are used for skimming off impurities from)
These tools are suspended from the arms of the master blower’
a short bench with flat and slightly sloping long arms, developed
the 17th century. The term chair also refers to the team of
working together - the gaffer, or master blower, and his assistants
the servitors and footmen, usually three or four in number. An i
glassmaker’s requisite is the marver, a polished iron slab for
smoothing or shaping the paraison, and also used for embedding
decoration in the glass surface.
Advances in technology have enabled greater control in gl
facture, guaranteeing a larger percentage of perfect output,
production method remains basically unchanged. Diamond arj
engraving can now be applied with electrically-powered too
produced polishing is achieved by placing the glass objects in
bath; and acid etching, although applied in earlier times and
during the 19th century, is now utilized in the fields of decorative domestic
and industrial glassmaking. Sandblasting, too, is a modern innovation,
although it is a variant of the abrasive technique.
ingraving, either by hand tool or copper wheel, and wheel cutting
always represent the pinnacle of the glass decorator’s art. Unlike
other decoration it highlights the refractive property of the material
enhances its brilliancy.
Ancient World
Gl^ss, as an independent material, made its appearance some time be-
tween 3000 to 2000 B.C., although man had prior knowledge of this sub-
stance in the form of vitreous glazes. On the basis of some newly exca-
vated material, it is now thought that glassmaking originated in western
Asia rather than in the eastern Mediterranean littoral. Hollow glass in
venyi much larger quantities appears for the first time in Egypt from
abiut 1500 B.C.
Early glass centres were favourably situated in the Tigris-Euphrates
region, the coastal and river areas of Egypt and along the Phoenician
coast in the cities of Sidon, Tyre and Acco. The colourful glass pastes
and enamel inlays of Egyptian artefacts bear witness to an abundance
of fine raw materials.
The first hollow glass consists of small vessels produced by the core
technique, whereby the required form is pre-shaped over the end of a
me al rod, the diameter of which corresponds to the required orifice of
the vessel. The form is made of clay or straw and sand, probably held
together by a cloth bag. The glass mass, ground from larger pieces and
rehjeated frequently to allow satisfactory fusion, is contained in a small
crucible into which the glassmaker places his metal dipstick and trails
threads of glass around the preformed core until it is covered.
After reheating and marvering smooth, the vessel was frequently
decorated by the application of contrasting coloured glass threads,
wh ch could be combed with a special tool to create a feather pattern.
Since metal contracts when cooling, the rod could be extracted quite
eas ly and the remaining core cleaned out. Handles and feet were applied
separately.
Cored vessels represent one of the most delightful facets of the early
glassmaker’s art. Turquoise and yellow colours dominate; later, almost
all colours were applied.
(pertain other techniques for shaping glass were available to early
craftsmen. Casting glass in open or closed moulds was a logical step,
since it was similar to existing techniques of metal and pottery working.
Larger vessels and small ornaments could be produced by making a glass
paslte from powdered fragments and fusing it in the mould. In the mosaic
glass technique, the vessel, usually a large open bowl, was built up from
slices of coloured glass laid next to each other over a mould forming the
shape, and covered by an outer mould. When fused and released from
the moulds, the vessel surfaces were ground smooth. Mosaic plaques and
mil\efiori glass made from slices of multi-coloured glass rods were
prdduced in a similar manner.
Egyptian artisans were able lapidaries and it is not surprising that they
applied their craft to glass. There are reasons to suppose that large glass
Syrian single-ha idled glass flask.
Glass
blocks were transported from their place of manufacture to egions
where facilities for glassmaking were not available. This may account
for glass objects of similar colour and texture found over widely dis-
persed areas. Such raw glass blocks were often cut and ground to form
a variety of objects.