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Techniques for Bohemian Glass

Bohemian glass techniques evolved over the years beginning in the 13th century. Techniques are tied to different eras -- Renaissance, Baroque, Rocco -- and different locations -- Nový Bor and Kamenický Šenov. Today the term Bohemian glass is most used to describe vases, bowls and other glass pieces that are brightly colored and gilded or etched through use of various techniques developed in the early- to mid-1800s in Bohemia.

Enamel Painting
- Developed in the mid-1500s by Pavel Schürer, head of a famous family of glass masters from Bohemia, enamel painting used burnt enamel paints to decorate glass products. The Thirty Years War interrupted the family business, but following the war another boom took place and enamel painted Bohemian glass was found in shops and homes throughout Europe. Enamel painting began in the Renaissance period and picked up again in the Baroque period.
Engraving and Etching
- Engraving on glass became a popular Bohemian glass technique during the Baroque period. In the first half of the 17th century, production of glassware using this technique was greatest among those farming in rural areas where engraved glass supplemented the income of families relying on agriculture, especially in the Lusatian Mountains. Although glass trading during the period when engraving was being widely applied was centered locally, it quickly took off when exporting advanced. Engraved Bohemian glass was then exported widely in Europe and even penetrated markets in America and Asia.
Yellow and Red Staining
- In the early 1800s in Northern Bohemia, Friedrich Egermann developed improved methods of creating colored glass; he stained it. Egermann first developed yellow staining using ions of silver and then red staining using ions of copper (ruby glass). The stained glass was decorated by cutting and engraving, and the stained engraved glass became more popular than the unstained engraved products because of the effect of the unstained glass showing from beneath.
Flashed, Hyalith and Lithyalin Techniques
- During the same period that stained glassware became popular, flashed, hyalith and lithyalin techniques appeared. The flashed glass technique was accomplished by dipping a glass product -- goblet, bowl, vase -- into a different colored glass, which creates a hardline between the two glass colors. The hyalith technique produces an opaque glass colored either red or black while the lithyalin technique mixes glass of different colors and brushing the surface with metal oxides to create a polished hard stone look. The lithyalin and flashed glass techniques were developed by the same inventor of the stained glass method.

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