Glass Blowing

The Roman historian Pliny relates the legend ofand Italy, France, Germany, as well as Switzerland and
Phoenician merchants in 500 BCE discovering moltenmany regions along the Mediterranean.
glass when cooking their meal. Archaeological remainsLike pipers who played music, skilled artisans endured
of river valley civilizations in Mesopotamia, Egypt, andintense heat to coax molten glass into beautiful forms
the Indus Valley reveal the existence of man-mademuch treasured by the world. A true art, each creation
glass beads dating to around 3500 BCE. Mesopotamia,reflected its maker and nation. Venice perfected glass
Egypt, Mycenae, and China were well known asblowing and exported Venetian glass to all corners of
glassmaking nations. And, details of the process ofthe world.
producing glass are to be found on stone tablets fromThe process of glass blowing was simplified by the
the library of the Assyrian king Asherbanipal dating toIndustrial Revolution, in 1820, when Bakewell, Page, and
650 BCE.Bakewell patented the mechanical pressing of glass.
It was in ancient Mesopotamia that the art of glassAt the end of the 19th century an American named
blowing originated, when an innovator working withMichael Owens invented an automatic bottle-blowing
glass discovered that molten glass could be blown likemachine, and by the 1920s there were 200 automatic
a balloon when air is blown through a glass tube. Thisglass Blowing machines in operation in America. Glass
was followed by the use of metal pipes at least twoprogressed from being handmade to being
centuries before the birth of Christ. This revolutionizedmass-produced.
glass production, and Romans rich and poor beganToday glass is mass-produced for everyday uses,
using glass. The Roman Empire establishedwhile hand-blown glass is treasured by collectors and
glass-manufacturing centers in all parts of the kingdomconnoisseurs of glass as an art form.