Isisnoreia
The history of the glass
Glass is as old as the earth itself. It is one of the oldest materials in human history and a valuable cultural asset.
Natural glass is created at high temperatures, a lightning strike, a meteorite strike and a volcano eruption.
Obsidian
The glass lava, the obsidian , which emerged from the glow of the volcanoes , was used by our ancestors as early as the Neolithic Age and made arrow and spearheads, gemstones and amulets from it.
For thousands of years, gleaming glass delicacies have fascinated people. They serve as jewelry, as decoration, as a luxurious commodity, as a means of payment and as a commodity in almost all cultures.
As jewelry, they gave their wearer social status, showed their wealth, brought them joy and functioned in many times and peoples as religious valley simans and protective amulets.
The origin of the production of glass by humans is still unclear today. the Roman historian Pliny the Elder (23-79 AD), tells a beautiful legend about the origin of glass long, long before its time:
“Seafarers and traders who transported soda on their ships landed on a Phoenician beach near the mouth of the Belus River. There they looked in vain for stones to build a fireplace for their cooking pot. So they got chunks of soda from their ships and put them under the fireplace in the sand. Due to the heat of the embers, the soda chunks melted with the sand of the river bank and a stream of liquid glass poured out of the fireplace ... "
Pliny, Nat.hist., 36, 191
Rather, Pliny describes in this section that in Phenicia (Syria) on the marshy banks of the river Belus, not far from the point where it emptied into the sea, glass was traditionally made for many centuries.
Neolithic and Bronze Age
Neolithic Age 5000 BC Chr.
The discovery and use of glass as a glaze, however, could actually have happened purely by chance. Calcareous sand in an overheated pottery kiln, shaped by the addition of natural soda a colored glass-like layer on the earthenware.
Clay pots and vases of this type are known from Mesopotamia and date to the end of the 5th century. v. Chr. And in Egypt in the beginning of the 4th century v. At that time it was mainly the Phoenician merchants and seafarers who spread this discovery in the area around the Mediterranean.
3500 BC Chr.
The first glass objects demonstrably specifically produced and shaped by humans are small greenish glass beads that were found in an Egyptian royal tomb, which dates back to around 3500 BC. Dated.
Bronze Age 3000 BC BC - 800 BC Chr.
From 2000 BC Glass pearls were also produced in Europe, but in terms of craftsmanship and splendor of colors, they could not be compared with oriental pearls.
1800 - 1200 BC Chr.
Glass beads first appeared in Central Europe at the transition from the Early to the Middle Bronze Age (1800 to 1500 BC) in Italy. They spread from there to Scandinavia. The pearls were predominantly blue, more rarely they are blue-green or turquoise. The first segmented pearls can also be found at this time.
1200 - 800 BC Chr.
The first multicolored pearls appear in the late Bronze Age. They are usually blue, barrel-shaped and decorated with white spiral threads. They are called pile-dwelling barrel pearls or pile-dwelling tubs, as they were mostly found in lakeside settlements, so-called pile-dwelling (south-west Germany, Switzerland).
Pile dwelling
replica
The early production of hollow glass
1500 BC Chr.
Around 1500 BC The so-called "sand core method" was developed in Egypt, which made it possible to manufacture small, hollow bottles and vases. A clay core was used as the negative form. This form was attached to a stick and immersed in the hot glass mass. By constantly rotating the core in the melt, the glass stuck to the mold. Subsequent rolling on a stone slab smoothed the surface or decorated it with ornaments. The sand core was scraped out after the glass had cooled and the hollow shape remained.
Due to the elaborate manufacturing method, hollow glasses were considered to be a real luxury item.
The Middle East, especially Syria, Mesopotamia and Egypt, are considered to be the leading regions for glass processing at this time. From Alexandria, the goods reached the entire Mediterranean area over the next few centuries.
The oldest glass vessel that can be definitely dated is the “Munich Chalice” with the name Thutmose III. (around 1450 BC) from the grave of Thutmose III.
Chalice with name cartouche of Thutmose III.
Glass, h. 8.1 cm. Thebes New Kingdom, 18th Dyn. Around 1450 BC Chr. ÄS 630, State Museum of Egyptian Art, Munich
A glass recipe
650 BC Chr.
"Take 60 parts of sand, 180 parts of ash the end Marine plants,
5 parts of chalk and You get glass "
The oldest glass recipe is written in cuneiform and comes from the clay tablet library
of the Assyrian King Ashurbanipal (668-626 BC). This recipe is essentially still valid today.
The Celts and theirs
Glass beads in Central Europe
Iron Age 800 (650) BC BC - 30 BC Chr.
In terms of evolution, the Celtic epoch falls after the Iron Age and is divided into two main stages of culture: the Hallstatt period (approx. 750 to 500 BC) and the Latène period (480 BC - 15 BC) Both names have their origins in the respective first sites of archaeological discoveries.
Around 800 BC In addition to the well-known monochrome, ring-shaped pearls in shades of blue, the ring-eye pearl appears. Most of these pearls are blue in color with white rings. In the case of these pearls, the rings were placed in a circle with fine glass threads and melted down.
Over time, the ring-eye beads are replaced by glass beads with a zigzag or wave-shaped thread layer. The color palette ranges from blue, green, brown and yellow to black. Different colors and shapes are popular depending on the region. This type of pearl was popular throughout the Iron Age and was supplemented by a new type of layered eye pearl at the end of the Hallstatt period.
ZIGZAG beads
Hallstatt D 6./5. Century BC Chr. Dürrnberg near Hallein
Celtic
Layered eye beads
4th century replica v. Chr. Dürrnberg near Hallein
For this purpose, different colored glass layers were dabbed onto the base bead and fused with the surface. Most of these pearls are yellow with white-blue layered eyes. But blue-green and turquoise pearls with white-blue eyes were also found. At the beginning of the La Tène period, the layered eye pearls were further developed, decorated with several layers of eyes and decorated with knobs. The color spectrum is also significantly expanded.
Around 300 BC There were already glass production facilities in numerous Celtic settlements.
The last century BC BC is shaped in Europe by the decline of the Celtic culture. The Romanization progresses, the Teutons penetrate south, the Celts rise in the Germanic tribes and there is a very clear decline in the quantity of pearls and their diversity.
Celtic layered eye beads
Replica, 4th century BC Christ, Dürrnberg
Celtic
Layered eye beads
Replica, 4th century BC Christ, Dürrnberg near Hallein
The Roman Empire
1st century BC - AD 476
The invention of the glassmaker's pipe revolutionized in the 1st century BC The glass production.
Syrian craftsmen from the region of Sidon (Babylon) succeeded between 27 BC. and 14 AD this crucial technical breakthrough.
the Glassmaker's pipe consisted of a 1 to 1.5 m long iron pipe, which was provided with a mouthpiece and an insulated handle. The glassblower used a pipe to pull a lump of liquid glass out of the melt and blow it up into a hollow body. By blowing the glass with a pipe, not only simple, bulbous vessels became feasible, but also thin-walled, complex-shaped glasses.
By blowing them into molds, it was now possible to manufacture series products. Depressions worked into shapes made it possible to create decorations on the surfaces of the glasses. At the same time, the use of the glassmaker's pipe meant the preliminary stage for the manufacture of flat glass. The glass was blown into cylindrical shapes, cut open and unfolded and smoothed while it was still warm. This revolutionary manufacturing technique came from Syria to Rome to be refined there according to all the rules of the art. Rome became the center of glassblowing. Glass became a popular handicraft material in the Roman world.
Roman amphora
Overlay technique from the early Augustan period (5-25 AD)
By Unknown - Jastrow (2007), CC BY 2.5, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2594026
There were already known murinis, mosaics, multi-layer glass from Egypt, and overlay glasses, bowls with gold inlays and cut portraits were added. The craftsmanship of glass production was perfected and rationalized. In 40 AD, wall panels made of glass were laid in Pompeii and the stately villas in Herculaneum and Pompeii were equipped with glass windows.
Around 100 AD, in Alexandria, the melting of colorless glass was achieved for the first time. The ability to reach higher temperatures and keep the firing better under control enhanced the quality of the glass.
Between the 1st and 4th centuries the highly developed glass art was widespread in all Roman provinces.
The size of the Roman Empire contributed to the fact that glassware from the eastern part and from the western part got their own characteristics. Alexandria remained the center of the eastern part, where luxury glassware was mainly made for export. The world-famous Portland Vase and the wonderful slide glasses are the most beautiful examples of this art.
In the western part of the empire, Cologne developed into the center of glass production and remains so together with Trier until the 11th century AD.
Slide glass
Antikensammlung Munich, 4th century AD
In Roman times, glass beads had different regional meanings.
For the Romans they were a commodity. They were produced in the Roman Empire directly for export to free Germania.
Glass beads were usually worn in combination with gold jewelry by the wealthy Roman women. These glass beads were small and one color.
They imitated precious gemstones such as ruby, emerald, sapphire and amber.
The Germanic tribes, on the other hand, had a preference for colorful, multi-colored patterned glass pearl necklaces, mostly imported goods from the Roman Empire.
From the end of the 4th century AD, the time of the migrations and the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 AD, the techniques were adopted and further developed by the Germanic tribes, the Alamans and Franks. The patterns remained very similar throughout the early Middle Ages until the 11th century AD.
Patterned
Germanic pearls
Mummy portrait
140 AD, Museum Berlin
Replica of early Roman melon pearls
Egypt 1st century AD
Venice - Murano
13th century AD - 15th century AD
Glass production had been known in Venice for centuries. As after the 4th crusade and the fall of Constantinople in 1204 Venice served the Byzantine glassmakers as a refuge and the oriental techniques fused with the Venetian techniques, the glass industry experienced a brilliant boom.
The success story of Murano glass begins in 1291, when all glassblower workshops were forcibly relocated to Murano. The reason for this was the numerous fires caused by the glass ovens, which caused enormous damage because most of the buildings in Venice were made of wood. Old documents and finds from excavations from the 9th century AD, however, show that glass production was located on the island of Murano even earlier Better control of production and keep the closely guarded secret of glass manufacturing. In the 14th century, Murano glass products were known as luxury items around the world.
Glass beads, drinking dishes and vases were exported to China. The techniques were refined more and more, from the 15th century the production of mirrors was added and new colored glass types were constantly being invented.
Murano's Glassblowing families were among the richest and most respected in the Venetian Republic, but their wealth depended on the secrecy of production techniques. The glassblowers were forbidden to leave the lagoon under penalty of death. An ordinance from 1454 states that if a Murano glassblower escaped, his family would be jailed.
From the 15th to 17th centuries, the art of glassmaking reached its peak in Murano. The non plus ultra of the Venetian art of glassmaking was the production of the purest crystal glass, which was characterized by an inimitable shine and absolute colorlessness. Pure quartz sand and extracted from marine plants Potash were the prerequisites for the “cristallo”.
Murano glass jug Cristallo
www.khm.at/de/object/b85738998b/
Murano glass jars Cristallo
www.khm.at/de/object/43cf61f121/
Despite all attempts by Venice to keep the technology of glass production a secret, it succeeded at the end of the 16th and 17th centuries. Century glassblowers to emigrate to the countries north of the Alps and to found new glassworks there.
Decisive were the poachers from France and Bohemia, who attracted a lot of money and so the techniques of glass production spread in these countries in the 17th and 18th centuries.
The end of the Venetian Republic in 1797 and its conquest by Napoleon finally sealed the decline of Murano. It was not until the middle of the 19th century that the tradition of glass production was resumed through the initiative of some old glassblower families. Today there are around 45 producing glass factories on the island.