As a novel glass forming technique created in the middle of the last century BC, glassblowing exploited inflation as a working property of glass. Inflation refers to the expansion of a molten blob of glass by introducing a small amount of air to it. Glass blowing involves three furnaces with the transformation of raw materials into glass at about 1,320 °C in the first stage and the transformation of glass from a pale white to bright orange. The glassblower would manipulate molten glass while still malleable and create patterns, handles, or flanges.
|A pair of Islamic pale green glass bottles, 2nd century AD offered by Armin Antiques|
|A selection of Islamic and pre-Islamic glass offered by Antique Choices|
During the first centuries of Islamic rule, glassmakers in the Eastern Mediterranean continued to use the Roman recipe consisting of calcium-rich sand and minerals from Egypt. And in fact, Islamic glass did not begin to develop a recognizable expression until the late 8th, despite the wide spread of Islam across the Middle East and North Africa with the Eastern Mediterranean remaining a centre of glass production. The Roman and Mesopotamian glassmaking industries continued in much the same way they had for centuries earlier. But following the unification of the entire region, the interaction of ideas and techniques was facilitated, allowing for the fusion of these two separate traditions with new ideas and the creation of a distinct Islamic glass industry.
|Islamic glass jug, 12th century offered by Bakhtar Art|
|Roman pale blue green glass vessel offered by Armin Antiques|
|Pre-Islamic glass offered by Antique Choices|
Indeed Bohemian glassware became as prestigious as jewellery and was sought-after by the wealthy and the aristocracy of the time. Hand-cut, engraved, blown and painted decorative glassware ranging from champagne flutes accompanying dinner sets to enormous chandeliers adorning palaces, complex ornaments and figurines gave glass production anew dimension.
The fascination with glass is ever present and evolving as it allows for innovation and stylistic expression for the glass blower by turning technology into something close to magic.
|Islamic glass bottle offered by Bakhtar Art|
|Roman glass bottle offered by Bakhtar Art|
|Roman pale blue green juglet offered by Armin Antiques|
|Roman glass, offered by Bakhtar Art|
|Bohemian tankard, offered by Mousa Antiques|
|Bohemian centre-piece, c1870-1880, offered by Mousa Antiques|
|Bohemian decanter, c1880, offered by Mousa Antiques|
|Pair of port or sherry glasses, Georgian, c1800, offered by Jack Podlewski|
|Bohemian vase, c1870-1880, offered by Mousa Antiques|
|Pair of Bohemian vases, offered by Mousa Antiques|
|Wine glass jug (sold as a pair), c1850, offered by Jack Podlewski|
|Bohemian goblet with lid, c1900, offered by Mousa Antiques|
|Glass vase, offered by Jack Podlewski|
For more information visit www.graysantiques.com
Written by Titika Malkogeorgou