The History of Glassware

First Handmade Glass

• Pliny, the Roman historian, wrote about Phoenician merchants who accidentally discovered glass in Syria about 5000 B.C. when they placed cooking pots on blocks of nitrate. The high temperatures of the fire's heat melted the nitrate, which mixed with sand, formed an opaque liquid and cooled as glass.
  However, anthropologists believe that glass beads from Egypt and Mesopotamia in 3500 B.C. were the first actual handmade glassware. The oldest glass vases thus far found were produced in 16th century B.C. in Mesopotamia, China and Egypt.

Glass Pots

• Egyptian artists started producing glass pots in approximately 1500 B.C. These artisans dipped a core mold of solid sand into molten glass. They then turned the mold, so the melted glass adhered to it. The mold, covered with soft glass, would then be rolled onto a large stone for smoothing and decoration.

New Glass Uses

• Anthropologists have found only minor changes in glassware until about the year 15 A.D. At this time, Syrian craftspeople from Babylonia began blowing glass. This process has not changed much since that time.
  About this same time, the Romans also spread new ways of making glass, such as windows, across the empire. Under the rule of Emperor Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus, Romans introduced glass technology to much of Europe and China.

Middle Ages

• About the year 1000 A.D., another form of glass craftsmanship arose. Up to this time, the raw material for glass was soda ash, lime and sand. When it became difficult for countries outside of Italy to import the soda ash, potash became an acceptable replacement.
  Glass windows were also perfected at this time, with numerous public buildings, inns and well-to-do homes featuring colored glass designed with historical events and coats of arms. Also in the Middle Ages, Venice became the major glass-making center as they incorporated the knowledge of their Syrian peers and Islamic designs. There were more than 8,000 glass artisans in Venice who were creating their own unique styles.

Advancements

• George Ravenscroft, from England, developed lead crystal in the late 1600s. With the use of lead oxide rather than potash, he was able to create glass that was richly colored and could more readily be cut and engraved. The French created a new form of plate glass with a reflective quality that could be used for high-quality mirrors.
  In the Industrial Revolution, it was possible to mass produce glassware with the latest technological advancements. For example, the Owens Libbey Suction Blow machines, which automatically produced bottles.

Modern-Day Glass Production

• In the 1900s, a number of different technologies were developed and refined. These new developments continue with the ongoing evolution of glassware. Today, production advancements include robotics, advanced coating applications, solar technology and micro-electronics.