New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1878-11-28


sion Of Harper q BrothorsI
GLASS MANUFACTURE AMONG THE ANCIENTs.
Ihave auded I'm another lecture TO the very rich col
lection OF ancient glass which the Metropolitan Mu-
scu Of Art possesses The whole OF this glass comes
from my excavations In Cyprus That the invention Of
glass Is credited 20 the PhUnclans believe TO be
questioned The ancens attribute It's invention TO
cIdent Some Phenican merchants. II Ia said, who
were carving a cargo OF nre, which used In syria
for soap, had landed this coast While preparing
their meal sailors propped their caldron for want OF
stone which the sandy coast did not AFFORD with humps
OF nitro These Jumps were melted by the heat, and
mixing with the sand produced stream Of glass
The discovery may have been accidental as regards
sidon probability is that the art derived by
the Phencisns OF Cyprus from Egypt which Is supplied
with sand by the desert and with soda by tho NarOn
Lakes The operation OF gass-bowng Is represented
the painting OF Bent Hassen, 10 which We cannot at
tribute antiquity Of less than $500 years. and two
spccimens Of Egyptian glass now in existence, Que
hearing the name OF sesOrtasen. q sovereign Of the
Twelfth Dynasty and another bearing the date of sar
gOu, who ruled In Assyra about 100 B. e.
No date Is assigned by the tradition TO the Sldonlan
inventIon but from the absence OF all mention Of glass
n the ola Testament 1t natural to conclude that tue
establishment OF the manufacture there not OF very
high antiquity The Oldest glass vessels IN tho Metro
politan Museum OF Art OF Sew-Y9rk were found IN
tombs with Babyonlan cylinders and Egyptian scurabs,
and place their date at about 100 TO 500 b. c.
without any eheeptTh tsey are mace Of 9pagno glass Of
pared with tue vessels OF transparent glass another
At ne present day these vases are Ofteno the greatest
brilanCy color. though originally they entirely
THIS WsD Of Color ia The glass itsef together with The
natural desire 10 produce beauty OF some KIND that led
aud Forms In decoration they were Of course
free TO make for coors by the Introduction OF moulded
attached TO the surface OF the by moulding
itself. All these OF transparent glass
perfume with which the dead BODY had been annonied
Many show OF this ointment very plainly and
ia aFnn flla.a ham
la which the ointment Is yet seen IN "a liquid state.
From the objects discovered III the same tomb with
accuracy. These objects RhO0ian alnphOrp
and Roman lamps and coins
Museum Is the only one that possesses entire specimens
have labels or seals .tsmped on It's handles
They have either the head OF Apollo Hcllos tho
Colossus OF Rhodes represented In full face or
a fnlLblown rose an emblem which also nnnears Very
frequently In tine coins OF thAt island The object OF these
some archrologsts believe that they were intended ~
certify that the amphore hold speciiied qnantity
We know they were used by tho Rho
dams as aIncasurc. On some OF these STAMPS
there is the OF the magistrate under wnom
the aInphor's were made, and also that Of
oi these amphoID appears the name Of Amyntns
who was q Rhodi'n Aumiral living IN 30l b. e. From
tins Tx The oldest date for the translucent glass
at about 800 D. c. As iOr the glass vessels found in
the tombs win Roman lamps adI coins we cannot be
far wrong 10 place them At the beginning OF our en-
since my CvuruS discoveries goIuc pl ,ss ,,,r
In Europe have underworld 10 produce this Iidcs
cenoo Dy exposing the glass TO the yapor O acus
but have only 10 take piece of tails newly irlI,cd
glass ana compare II with the lrIdcscent glass
Ia the Museum to he convinced once Of the uurn.e
difference between them. sill this new pro-
duCtlon In the manufacture OF glass "a n
good one, amt destined for bulse.hold
purposes TO become iayOrite with the AuerIcnu
people, said that accurate date may be ASSIGNED al
the transparent glass found in Cyprus deriving il nom
the RhOdiIu amphOrie ana Roman lamps, which arc
found with the glass. The amphOrn. however are never
found together with the Lamps Roman coins cul,c.
queutly the glass found IN the With lanips or
OF the Roman period three four ccntiirs
later than the glass found with the RuOd,an ampnora
ROMAN AND GREEK TERRA-CoITA LAMPS
have mentioned the terra-cOtta lamps In which the
Metropolitan Museum OF Art collection is 50 ricb A
few words concerning their manufacture aud use NAV
not be inappropriate The invention OF lamps
is attributed 10 tho Egyptians Lamps are
believed to have been first made by
Vulcan and lit by Prometheus. The e1caya-
tons 10 Cyprus have yielded n number OF lamps
which are doubtless Of Egyptian fabric; they
were found in tombs together with Egyp-
tian amulsts and scarses, but they are not