The beginnings of glass aren't clear, but glass
beads and rods unearthed from Egypt and Mesopotamia around the 24th
century B.C. are considered to be the oldest in the world. Around
the 16th century B.C., diverse formation methods, such as the core
technique in which glass is wrapped around a mold of clay, were
invented in Mesopotamia and those methods also spread to Egypt and
Syria.
In the middle of the 1st century B.C., the epoch-making technique
in glass craft history, the "glass blowing technique,"
was invented in the Syrian region and mass production was made possible.
Since then, transparent glass production began, followed by the
blooming of beautiful glass craft with enamel coloring in Islam,
which was transmitted to Venetian glass. In Venice, all glass craftsmen
were moved to Murano Island to invent methods, such as lace glass,
that were not to be conveyed out of the island, thus establishing
a foundation for European glass. Subsequently, production of high
quality glass that was almost colorless and transparent was made
possible by using tree ash instead of soda ash as a glass raw material
in Bohemia, where the Venetian technology was implemented. As a
result, Venetian glass gradually declined.
Today, both mass production by automatic mold machines and studio
glass made in individual kilns are found around the world. |
