Roman Glass: Transformation by Fire
If you want a few minutes of sheer pleasure, I suggest this video recreating skilled Roman glassmaking. The skill of the recreators and of the original craftsman reawakened for me the sense of wonder that glass can and should inspire.
To take sand, a dull earth in the ancient classification of mineral substances, and through the purifying heat of the fire, as the ancients would have thought of it, create a shining, transparent drinking cup or glass was pure magic. And a reminder of ancient links between kitchens, laboratories, and workshops, between food and the containers for food.
Here’s a brief description of the glass maker from the Corning website. I’d love to see the full exhibition but with luck I will be able to at least see the pieces on display at the Met in New York.
Among the earliest workshops to design and create mold-blown glass was one in which a man named Ennion worked. Ennion was the first glassmaker to sign his glass objects by incorporating his name into the inscriptions that formed part of the mold’s design, and thus he stands among a small group of glass workers whose names have come down to us from antiquity.
Source: Ennion and His Legacy: Mold-Blown Glass from Ancient Rome | Corning Museum of Glass
- Charmingly Unromantic: Measuring Progress in Food
- My Great Grandmother’s Industrially Processed Food
Glorious!
Astonishing artistry — and remarkable transformation. I can’t even imagine how hot that glass is, however. But really beautiful — and wonderful to know that the designs were created by a specific artisan so long ago.
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