13-02-2016, 12:45 PM
Glass has been around for a very long time in the Mediterranean area (they have the right natural materials for making it) and goes back as far as the ancient Egyptians (apparently the claim that the Phoenicians invented it are based upon the assumption that they had the right materials for it, rather than being based on the discovery of actual artifacts).
Furnaces for firing clay have been around a very long time also.
Furnaces and glass-blowing was a logical progression that resulted in vials and bottles used for storage by the early Christian era.
Pliny not only wrote about herbs, he also wrote about glass-making.
But, I don't know when ornate blown glass was first made or how long it took to spread through merchants and travelers to other areas. I know that the glassworks were moved from Venice to Murano in about 1400 (by memory, so I may be off by a decade or so). I have a number of pieces of Bohemian glass, but none before 1850.
Given its reputation for decorative glass, Murano and the Czech glassblowers who were in communication with Murano may have been doing some fancy stuff by the 15th century.
Furnaces for firing clay have been around a very long time also.
Furnaces and glass-blowing was a logical progression that resulted in vials and bottles used for storage by the early Christian era.
Pliny not only wrote about herbs, he also wrote about glass-making.
But, I don't know when ornate blown glass was first made or how long it took to spread through merchants and travelers to other areas. I know that the glassworks were moved from Venice to Murano in about 1400 (by memory, so I may be off by a decade or so). I have a number of pieces of Bohemian glass, but none before 1850.
Given its reputation for decorative glass, Murano and the Czech glassblowers who were in communication with Murano may have been doing some fancy stuff by the 15th century.