Of all the technological achievements of
civilization, perhaps none so delights
the senses
as glass. For thousands of years, glass
has been
used to create jewelry, works of art,
and
functional objects of great beauty. In
the bible,
the value of glass is equated with that
of gold
and silver, and it was indeed treated by
the
ancients as a precious substance. The
origins of
glass are lost in the mists of time, but
the
Egyptians in the 4th millennium B.C most
probably invented it. The roman
naturalist Pliny
attributes the discovery of glassmaking
to the
Phoenicians, and the cities of the
Levant were
famous as centers for the glass trade.
The
earliest glass was opaque, colored in a
variety of
rich hues that often imitated gems like
lapis and
emerald. The Egyptians used it
extensively in
jewelry and made little distinction
between the
genuine and the artificial gems. The art
of
glassblowing and the development of
transparent
glass both date to the roman period.
From
centers like Tyre and Alexandria, glass
vessels
were exported throughout the empire and
as Far
East as Persia and china. The Romans
colored
their glass in myriad shades, favoring
blue, green
and yellow, as well as clear. One of the
most
fascinating properties of glass is that,
through
oxidization, it acquires a rich
iridescent patina
with age. Brilliant as a peacock's tail,
this glass
jewel is a piece of history that appeals
directly to
the contemporary eye.
- (FJ.4482)
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