a brief history of glass

It takes other people an entire book to sort out the history of glassmaking - we manage it with one table! Well, maybe not, but we hope this potted history will be of some use in making sense of the progression of developments. (All dates are taken from authoritative sources, though experts may differ on some of them).

15th Century BC	1499 - 1400	Glass first produced, probably in Egypt. Cartouche of King Thotmes III (1501-1449) on three vases. Silica (flint/quartz/sand) + potash (from burnt wood/bracken). Threads of molten glass wound around soft clay core & flattened, or core dipped.
14th - 5th Century BC	1399 - 400	No major developments
4th Century BC	399 - 300	The foundation of Alexandria in 331 (by Alexander the Great, after conquering Asia Minor, Palestine & Egypt) accelerates development of glass production..
3rd - 2nd Century BC	299 - 100	Not a lot happening
1st Century BC	99 - 0	Technique of blowing glass discovered. After the Roman conquest of Egypt in 27 BC, glass starts to arrive in Rome in great quantity, and the art is spread throughout Roman Empire.
1st - 3rd Century AD	1 - 299	Another quiet period
4th Century AD	300 - 399	Foundation of Byzantium in 300.
5th Century AD	400 - 499	After the sack of Rome in 410 AD. Emperor Constantine moves to Byzantium, which becomes centre of world trade. "Roman" glass now known as "Byzantine".
6th Century AD	500 - 599	Dark ages - another quiet period
7th Century AD	600 - 699	Strong Islamic influence. Degeneration of the art throughout Europe to a crude form, such as German Waldglas (forest glass). Cools quickly, leaving little time to manipulate it. Well-suited to cutting/engraving.
8th - 10th Century AD	700 - 999	First recorded reference to Venetian glassmaking in 982
11th Century AD	1000 - 1099	Records show Venetian glassmakers had contact with Alexandria.
12th Century AD	1100 - 1199	No longer the Dark ages, but another quiet period
13th Century AD	1200 - 1299	Byzantium captured by Franks & Venetians, but Venetian glass industry already well-established. Soda added instead of potash, molten glass now plastic. Metal tinted dark grey, green, blue or yellow. All Venetian glassmaking moved to the island Murano in 1291, due to risk of fire to city of Venice
14th Century AD	1300 - 1399	Presumably everybody too busy fighting!
15th Century AD	1450	Renaissance of Murano glass after 100-year decline. Angelo Barovier invents cristallo (very clear soda glass - by adding manganese to soda glass), lattimo and calcedonio (agate glass)
	1450 - 1500	Green, azure, blue and amethyst glass introduced in Murano, gold used in decoration
	1460	Enamel and graffito (scratched gold-leaf) decoration re-introduced in Murano (abandoned 100 years earlier)
	End 15th C	Millefiori rods introduced into Murano glass decoration
16th Century AD	1527	Filippo Catani introduces filigrana a retortoli (filigree glass)
	1535	Vincenzo D'Angelo introduces diamond-point engraving on mirrors
	1549	Vincenzo D'Angelo uses diamond-point engraving on other glass
	c 1570	Venetian "ice" glass first mentioned
17th Century AD	c 1600	Incalmo and Fenicio techniques introduced in Murano
	c 1620	Aventurine glass introduced in Murano
	1673	Lead oxide added to potash glass by George Ravenscroft in England. This results in heavy, clear glass, ideal for cutting. Tints of dark grey, yellow or green.
	c 1690	Girasol (opalescent) glass introduced in Murano
	end 17th C	Potash crystal used in Murano, in Bohemian style
18th Century AD	1700 - 1799	Period of crisis for Venetian glass. Glassmaking in decline; mainly beads (for colonies), some vitreous paste, enamels & common items. Mostly Bohemian-style glass
	1710	By 1710, the addition of red Lead had helped to eliminate most darker tints. Impurities satisfactorily controlled by 1750. Glass becomes increasingly clear during 18th & 19th centuries.
	1725	Copper-wheel engraving introduced, becoming more sophisticated toward the late 1700s
	1730s	Giuseppe Briati uses Potash crystal in a Venetian style
	1740	Folded foot disappears from English drinking-glasses (brief revival in early 1800s)
	1745	Glass Excise Act passed in England
	1750 - 70	Gothic revival
	1760	Bell bowl disappears from English drinking-glasses
	1760	Enamelling introduced in Britain
	1780	Glass Excise in England doubled
	1797	Fall of Venetian Republic, decline of Venice, ruled by French Republic, then Austrian & Napoleonic Empires
19th Century AD	1800	Ground pontil introduced in English drinking-glasses(from 1760 on facet-cut wines)
	1800 - 20s	Regency cut glass (typically diamonds between step-cutting)
	1800	Square foot introduced in English drinking-glasses in early 1800s
	1800 - 40	Gothic revival (yes, another one!)
	1804	Cased/cut glass originates in Bohemia
	1805	Wrythen decoration disappears from English drinking-glasses
	1814	Hapsburgh occupation of Venice (lasts 50 years)
	1820 - 70	Rococo revival
	1820	Sulphides introduced (also called "cameo incrustations")
	1820s	Lithyalin glass invented in Bohemia by Friedrich Egermann
	1820s - 30s	Various new colours introduced in Bohemia: violet, pink, blue, uranium-yellow & green (annagelb & annagrun)
	1825	Pressed glass begins in USA
	1825	Cased/cut glass begins in France
	1831	Cristallo engraving introduced
	1832	Staining introduced in Bohemia as a cheap substitute for cased and flashed glass
	1840 - 75	Victorian "Gothick" style
	1840 - 50	Lacy glass in production
	1841	Pressed glass begins in Britain (primitive `cut' style during 1840s)
	1844	Cased/cut glass begins in Britain
	c 1845	Pietro Bigaglia revives use of aventurine in granito glass, and introduces multi-coloured filigree techniques
	1845	Strong Bohemian influence in Britain in the late 1840s
	1845	Glass Excise Act in England repealed
	1849	Silvered ("mercury") glass invented
	c 1850 - 1900	Recovery of Venetian style (much imitated abroad); copies of pre-Roman & Roman glass. Rediscovery of forgotten techniques
	1850	Acid etching becomes popular (first discovered in Sweden 1771)
	1851	Moulded "Roman pillars" style in vogue
	1851	Ruby (Cranberry) glass in fashion. The year of the Great Exhibition
	1854	Fratelli Toso begin to produce antique-style artistic objects
	1856	Lorenzo Radi rediscovers calcedonio glass
	1857	Air-trap decoration & acid-polishing patented by W H, B & J Richardson
	1860s	Reproduction of complex Settecento (18th Century) forms in Murano
	1860	Gadget invented
	1861	Historic Venetian Glass museum established in Murano town hall
	1862	Strong Venetian influence in Britain as a result of London International Exhibition
	1865	Geometric etching machine invented (first patterns were Greek key & overlapping circles)
	1866	Antonio Salviati founds Salviati & Co (backed by English associates)
	1867	Dab handle (bottom to top) introduced (traditional Pump handle [top to bottom] continued briefly)
	1869	Cutting-off machines invented
	1870s	First use of murrhine for 1000 years by Vincenzo Moretti of Salviati & Co. Copies of ancient "sand-core" glassware with combed-thread decoration
	1874	Crimping introduced, becoming gradually more complex
	1876	Machine threading invented
	1877	Crackle glass first produced
	1878	Paris Universal Exhibition. Salviati & Co present engraved gold-leaf between two layers of glass; copies of palaeo-Christian glass & Augustean cameos. Iridescent (bronze) glass discovered, shown by Thomas Webb at the exhibition
	1878 - 1907	Rock Crystal glass produced (copper-wheel engraved)
	1880	Widespread use of acid-polishing & satin air-trap decoration (both originally patented by Richardsons in 1857). Cameo cutting & etching introduced. Trapped enamel decoration begins. Furnace-applied decoration from mid 1880s
	1886	Heat-sensitive glass in production (Amberina patented in USA 1883). "Pull-up" technique introduced
	1889	Silver electrodepositing on glass discovered
	1892	Intaglio cutting introduced (stone wheel cutting)
	1895	Verre-sur-verre technique introduced
	late 1800s	Development of "modern" Venetian style, consisting of dainty objects decorated with dragons, serpents & other brightly-coloured animals. The ancient Egyptian technique of pâte-de-verre re-introduced in France by Cros, Dammouse, Décorchement, Argy-Rousseau,
20th Century AD	1900 - 1999	Soda-lime glass (lime adds stability & weather-proofing) still used for bottles, windows, light-bulbs; Lead-potash glass for tableware, Boro-silicate for laboratory & ovenware
	early 1900s	Murano glassmaking still entrenched in traditional patterns, despite Art Nouveau revolution elsewhere. Overly dependent on tourist industry
	1911	Only four of the twelve major Murano glassworks still open (Compagnia di Venezia e Murano, Fratelli Toso, Artisti Barovier, Ferro Toso & Co)
	1910 - 20	Belated Art Nouveau influence in Murano: Vittorio Toso with Hans Stoltenberg Leche for Fratelli Toso; Vittorio Zecchin with Teodoro Wolf-Ferrari for Artisti Barovier
	1913 - 25	Murrhine designs by Giuseppe, Ercole & Nicolo Barovier for Artisti Barovier
	1916	Graal glass developed at Orrefors by Simon Gate, with Albert Ahlin and Knut Bergqvist
	1920s	Cappellin & Venini produce undecorated but decorative pieces "light as a soap bubble, fragile and supremely useless"
	1925	Paris "Exposition Internationale des Arts Decoratifs et Industriels Modernes" (Art Deco: anti-functional and based on elegant craftsmanship). Italian selection committee demanded the "rare and difficult object"
	1928 - 30s	Murano Novecento style; soft, plastic, sometimes asymmetric shapes. At first often opaque, from c 1936 consistently transparent. Often sommerso, internal layers gold-leaf, bullicante or sfumato - externally iridescent or corroso
	1936	Ariel glass introduced at Orrefors by Edvin Öhrström, and developed by Vicke Lindstrand

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