17 lines
3.6 KiB
TeX
17 lines
3.6 KiB
TeX
\section{Rome}
|
|
|
|
With the rise of the Roman Empire, glass making once again followed the money\EmDash{}this time from Egypt to Rome, where it was embraced to a degree unrivaled even in modern times. The invention of glassblowing in particular coincided with the peak of Roman civilization\EmDash{}glass vessels were produced cheaply and in large quantities. Fine pieces became highly prized and symbols of wealth. ``Its success was so great that it began to undermine its main competitor, ceramics. Glass was principally used for containers of various kinds: dishes, bottles, jugs, cups, plates, spoons, even lamps and inkwells. It was also used for pavements, for coating walls, for forcing frames for seedlings, and even for drainpipes. It is no exaggeration to say that glass was used for a wider range of objects than at any other time in history, including the present. It was especially appreciated for the way it enhanced the attractiveness of the favourite Roman drink, wine.''\footnote{Glass, A World History, Macfarlane, p.14}
|
|
|
|
Of the five main uses for glass\EmDash{}jewelry (glass beads, etc.), vessels (like goblets and other domestic ware), windows, lenses, and mirrors\EmDash{}Rome developed jewelry and vessels most of all, although the other uses were known but not adopted to any great extent. (Although it might be a bit unfair to call it 'Roman Glass' when Rome was really relying on foreign expertise and glassmakers 'acquired' by the Empire.)
|
|
|
|
Window glass was apparently made by casting, and pieces of considerable size were made\footnote{For a particularly stunning example of ancient glass casting, see the 8.5 ton slab of glass\EmDash{}the third largest ever made\EmDash{}cast in ancient times. Kurinsky, 214}, but window glass was never particularly popular with the Romans\EmDash{}perhaps due to the temperate climate. The farther north, the more commonly are windows found. In Britain they were quite common after the Roman invasion and even into southern Scotland. It was in northern Europe that window technology developed and flourished after the fall of Rome.
|
|
|
|
The Romans knew how to make glass mirrors, yet they preferred metal ones. Archaeology has only uncovered a handful of Roman glass mirrors.
|
|
|
|
Similarly, the use of glass to magnify objects was probably known. A little glass ball filled with water may have been used for fine work, such as engraving, but the Romans did not develop lenses or prisms.\footnote{Glass, A World History, Macfarlane, p.16}
|
|
|
|
Glass making was at least attempted in every province that fell under the Roman yoke. And glass making persisted in the flotsam of the former Empire. Much of the production occurred on the edges of the old Empire. The Roman love of glass had spread as far as Afghanistan and the central Sahara, and as far north as Scotland and Scandinavian. ``When the barbarians overran the Roman Empire, they had already absorbed glass as an essential part of their lives, and this tradition continued.''\footnote{Glass, A World History, Macfarlane, p.19}
|
|
|
|
So glass making persisted. Different regions developed their own styles of glassware, of course. And windows became a high art form in the painted and stained glass windows of the medieval era. There are references to such windows from fifth century France onward; by 1000 painted glass is mentioned quite frequently in church records. The Benedictine order in particular gave impetus to window glass\EmDash{}they saw glass as a way of glorifying God through their involvement in its actual production in their monasteries, and injected huge amounts of skill and money into its development. \footnote{Glass, A World History, Macfarlane, p.20}
|
|
|