Glassmaking Flashcards
(11 cards)
What was the earliest use of glass?
glaze pottery although not long after, it was discovered that you could heat glass, shape it and let it harden in that shape.
what was the initial method for making glass?
wrapping glass around a clay and sand core.
1500 BC
earliest Egyptian glass vessels discovered in tombs
331 BC
craftsmen flocked to Alexandria wanting to improve their skills, including glassmakers who wanted to experiment using a wide range of colours and shapes.
Late 1st century BC
Glass blowing developed in Egypt and Syria and glass objects changed from luxury items to more common household items
Ingredients for glassmaking
sand + sodium carbonate (produced from the ash of plants)
What was the mould method for producing glass?
molten glass was wrapped around a clay and sand core which produced the shape of a vase or jar. once the glass hardened, the inside was washed out. this method limited the shape of the vase to a small one (eg a perfume bottle).
how was colour added?
colour was added to the glass using different chemicals. Blue, Green, Brown and white were the most common for the basic shape but many other colours were used for decoration, (thin lines of molten glass often trailed along the finished vase)
What was the glass blowing method?
place the pipe into the crucible above the furnace and lift out a blob of molten glass
blow down the pipe to shape the glass into a hollow bubble
reheat and repeatedly blow to make a bubble
gently swing the bubble or use tools to shape the object.
Moulds?
by blowing glass into a mould it was easy to make lots of identical objects.
Why was glass blowing a major breakthrough is glassmaking?
This method allowed craftsmen to make many different shapes and sizes of vessels quickly and efficiently.
