Molten color
Subtitle: glassmaking in antiquity
By: Karol B. Wight
Publisher: J. Paul Getty Museum
Published: 2011
Place of publication: Los Angeles
Language: eng
Number of pages: 136
ISBN-13: 9781606060537
Subjects: Glass manufacture; Ancient Glassware; History
Description: Some of the most astounding antiquities in museums today are pieces made of glass. Not only are they beautiful, with marvelous colors and fanciful shapes, but the fact that these fragile items have survived the millennia is amazing. This volume describes the uses of glass and glassmaking in the ancient world, from their origins in Mesopotamia and Egypt to developments in the late Roman Empire.

The first half of this exquisitely illustrated book examines the earliest techniques for making glass, including casting, core-forming, and mosaic. All were used for centuries prior to the development of glass blowing, in which molten glass is inflated at the end of a hollow tube. This technique, which started in the middle of the first century, led to entirely new shapes and decorative approaches. The second half of the book looks at glass made during the Roman imperial period.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. 128) and index.
Table of contents: title: What is glass?; title: The birth of glass: Mesopotamia and Egypt; title: Glass in the Mediterranean world; title: The discovery of inflating glass; title: Glass in the Roman world; title: . Glass in the later empire: regional distinctions; title: How was glass used?; title: Glossary of glass terms.