04｜Continuation of the History of Glass

Hello!

I imagine some of you have started new jobs or are in new environments today. I hope you'll do your best to make these experiences exciting and enjoyable.

Today, I'll continue discussing the history of glass, following up on last week's post.

As I mentioned last week, humans have been using glass as a partner to enjoy life for 6,000 years.

A significant change in glass culture occurred around the 3rd century BCE, in Egypt and Syria, influenced by the Roman Empire. This was when glass began to be produced by blowing it with a blowpipe, a method still used today. It is thought that with the invention of the blowpipe, people started creating various forms of glassware, moving beyond bead-like objects.

Furthermore, during the Roman Empire, advancements were seen in glass manufacturing methods. While previously, most glass was opaque and a mixture of many colors, clear glass finally began to be produced. Simple cut glass and mold-blown glass production also started.

Around the 2nd to 3rd centuries, glass began to be used for windows, and items like tiles processed with glass on their surface and drinking glasses were manufactured. At that time, these were more expensive and highly valued than gold or silver vessels.

In 395 CE, the Roman Empire split into East and West, and the center of glass artistry shifted to Constantinople (modern-day Istanbul, Turkey) in the Eastern Roman Empire. Unfortunately, there are few surviving ruins or records of Byzantine glass from that period, or of the Sasanian Persian glass believed to have been influenced by it, so much remains unclear.

Glass artistry does not seem to have developed significantly until the fall of the Eastern and Western Roman Empires; rather, the techniques from the Roman Empire were passed down and gradually improved.

The biggest leap in the development of glass artistry, as many of you know, occurred in Venice, Italy. I will talk about this next time, so please look forward to it.