LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
| [I.] | Syrian or Venetian Glass. EnamelledBeaker of slightly greenish glass with a fewelongated bubbles. (H. 71⁄2 in.) The Virgin andChild enthroned between conventional lilies; oneither side an angel holding a tall candle; beyond,the figures of St. Peter and St. Paul. Above, aninscription in Gothic characters—D[=N]IA MATERREGIS ALTISSIMI ORA P PA. From the AdrianHope collection. End of thirteenth century.British Museum. | |
| [(Frontispiece.)] | ||
| [II.] | Unguentaria of Primitive Glass. BritishMuseum. | |
| (1) From Gurob, near Illahun, Upper Egypt.(H. 4 in.) Decoration of palm-pattern formedby double drag, on a sard-coloured translucentground. Nineteenth Dynasty. | ||
| (2) Amphora-shaped vase. (H. 53⁄8 in.) Patternformed by simple drag, on opaque red ground.The body apparently turned on wheel. Handlesof green transparent glass. Said to come from theIonian Islands. | ||
| (3) Small Jug of Oenochoë shape. (H. 51⁄2 in.)Palm pattern formed by double drag, on dark blue,nearly opaque ground. Provenance uncertain.From the Slade collection. | ||
| (To face p. [22.]) | ||
| [III.] | Egyptian Glass Pastes. British Museum. | |
| (1) Scarab of dark blue paste with white veinsimitating lapis lazuli. (L. 31⁄2 in.) From Thebes.Later Empire. | ||
| (2) Vase for cosmetics, in shape of column withpapyrus capital. (H. 33⁄4 in.) Slade collection. | ||
| (3) Plaque of ‘fused mosaic.’ (L. 31⁄4 in., about3⁄8 in. in thickness.) From the cemetery at Denderah.Ptolemaic period. | ||
| (To face p. [32.]) | ||
| [IV.] | (1) Small bottle (‘lachrymatory’). (H. 3 in.)Glass of various colours arranged in wavy lines,and now in part iridescent. Probably from aGreco-Roman tomb. Slade collection. | |
| (2) Bowl of thin white glass, finished on the lathe.(Diam. 33⁄4 in.) Probably from a late Greek tomb. | ||
| (3) Spherical vase of pale blue transparent glass.(H. 33⁄8 in.) The mark of the two parts of themould into which the glass was blown is visible.Decoration of dolphins, fishes, etc., on bands.Probably Roman, first century A.D. Slade collection.1, 2, and 3, all in British Museum. | ||
| (To face p. [45.]) | ||
| [V.] | Two Bowls of Millefiori Roman Glass. ProbablyRoman, first century A.D. British Museum. | |
| (1) Madrepore pattern, in dark purple ground.(Diam. 5 in.) | ||
| (2) Breccia pattern, in purple ground with whitescrolls. From the Durand collection. (Diam.51⁄4 in.) | ||
| (To face p. [50.]) | ||
| [VI.] | (1) Beaker with oval bosses, formed by blowinginto a mould with apertures. (H. 5 in.) Clearwhite glass. Said to have come from Constantinople.Greco-Roman, first century A.D. | |
| (2) Tall-necked flask of pale green transparent glass.(H. 63⁄4 in.) Maze-like pattern, formed by blowinginto mould. Greco-Roman. From Melos. | ||
| (3) Small octagonal pyx, or case for cosmetics.(H. 61⁄4 in.) White opaque glass (but probablyoriginally transparent); blown into mould. FromSidon. Probably first century B.C. 1, 2, and 3,all in British Museum. | ||
| (To face p. [56.]) | ||
| [VII.] | Sepulchral Glass From the Syrian Coast(said to come from Mount Carmel). Probablyabout first century B.C. Pale green glass, withiridescence. British Museum. | |
| (1) Vase for cosmetics in shape of double column.(H. 51⁄4 in.) | ||
| (2) Vase with six handles. (H. 41⁄4 in.) | ||
| (3) Vase with handles and stringings of cobalt-blue.(H. 8 in.) | ||
| (To face p. [60.]) | ||
| [VIII.] | Bowl of Olive-Green Glass, carved in high(detached) relief. Mounted on metal stand andwith metal rim. Deep red by transmitted light.Subject—The Madness of Lycurgus. ProbablyRoman, about third or fourth century A.D. Fromthe collection of Lord Rothschild. | |
| (To face p. [73.]) | ||
| [IX.] | Roman Glass from Graves in Britain. BritishMuseum. | |
| (1) Jug of pale olive glass, with iridescence. (H.83⁄8 in.) From Colchester. | ||
| (2) Vase of olive-green glass, with two handles,each ending in quilled attachments. (H. 9 in.)From Bayford, near Sittingbourne. | ||
| (To face p. [86.]) | ||
| [X.] | Gilt Glass of the Cemeteries. Fifth centuryA.D. British Museum. | |
| (1) Part of a bowl, the sides ornamented withsmall medallions of gilt glass. Subjects—Adamand Eve, Sacrifice of Isaac, Jonas, the ThreeChildren, Daniel, etc. (Max. dimension, 61⁄2 in.)Found near the Church of St. Severinus, Cologne. | ||
| (2) Disc from base of bowl. (Diam. 33⁄4 in.) Below,Christ, between Timothy and Hippolytus; above,St. Paul, St. Sixtus, and St. Laurence, standingbetween torque columns. | ||
| (3) Portraits of Bride and Bridegroom—Orfitus andConstantia; with figure of Hercules and congratulatoryinscription. (Diam. 4 in.) | ||
| (To face p. [91.]) | ||
| [XI.] | Byzantine Glass, from the Treasury of St.Mark’s, Venice. (Reproduced from Passini,Tesoro di S. Marco.) | |
| (1) ‘Balance-pan’ lamp of clear glass for suspension.On the silver rim, an invocation to St.Pantaleone by the Bishop of Iberia. (Diam.101⁄2 in.) | ||
| (2) Ellipsoid lamp, for suspension. Commonglass, carved in high relief with shells, fishes, etc.Silver rim, with cloisons for jewels and sockets forcandles. (Chief diam. 8 in.) | ||
| (3) Paten, or more likely ‘balance-pan’ lamp.Greenish glass, incised with a series of concentricrings. (Diam. 7 in.) | ||
| (To face p. [96.]) | ||
| [XII.] | Cantharus-shaped Vase of sky-blue, bubblyglass. (H. 61⁄4 in.) Probably a chalice. Circafifth century A.D. Found at Amiens. From thePourtalès collection. British Museum. | |
| (To face p. [98.]) | ||
| [XIII.] | Byzantine or Early Saracenic Glass, fromthe Treasury of St. Mark’s, Venice. (Reproducedfrom Passini, Tesoro di S. Marco.) | |
| Pear-shaped vase, set with ‘false’ metal spoutand handle, to resemble an ampulla. Carved inlow relief, in imitation of rock-crystal—design oftwo sheep-like animals amid conventional foliage.(Glass alone 4 in. in H.) | ||
| (To face p. [101.]) | ||
| [XIV.] | Byzantine or Late Roman Glass, from theTreasury of St. Mark’s, Venice. (Reproduced fromPassini, Tesoro di S. Marco.) | |
| Situla of greenish glass, carved in high(detached) relief with a hunting scene. Below, araised grating, supported on rods of glass (diatretumwork). H. 11 in. | ||
| (To face p. [102.]) | ||
| [XV.] | Glass Beads. British Museum. | |
| (1) Cylindrical beads with white and yellow pellets:(i) Blue glass with satyr-like mask; (ii) opaquegreenish glass. Probably from Cyprus. Greek orPhœnician. | ||
| (2) Two Chevron beads. Provenance uncertain.Slade collection. | ||
| (3) Three chains of beads, from Frankish tombsin the Rhine-Moselle district. | ||
| (To face p. [108.]) | ||
| [XVI.] | Anglo-Saxon Glass. Prunted Beaker of olive-greenglass. (H. 111⁄8 in.) From burial-mound,Taplow. British Museum. | |
| (To face p. [111.]) | ||
| [XVII.] | Anglo-Saxon Glass. (1) Conical cup of palegreen glass, with applied threadings. (H. 101⁄4 in.)From Kempston, Bedfordshire. British Museum. | |
| (2) Drinking-cup of olive-green glass. (H. 81⁄2 in.)From Faversham, Kent. British Museum (GibbsBequest). | ||
| (To face p. [112.]) | ||
| [XVIII.] | Hedwig Glass (so-called). Two views of a cupof nearly colourless glass (H. about 4 in.), carvedin relief with lion, griffin, and shield. German orOriental; thirteenth century, or perhaps earlier.Now mounted on Gothic metal stand, which is notshown. Germanic Museum, Nuremberg. | |
| (To face p. [114.]) | ||
| [XIX.] | Mediæval Glass Furnace. Reproduction of acoloured miniature from a manuscript, writtenprobably in 1023, of Rabanus Maurus (DeOriginibus Rerum), preserved in the library atMonte Cassino. | |
| (To face p. [124.]) | ||
| [XX.] | German Glass, Fourteenth and FifteenthCentury. Dark bluish-green glass, from theGermanic Museum, Nuremberg. | |
| (1) Prunted cup for holding relics. | ||
| (2) Wax cover to above, with seal of the Abbey towhich it belonged. | ||
| (To face p. [137].) | ||
| [XXI.] | Do. do. | |
| (1) Small cup with pap-shaped prunts. | ||
| (2) Cup with conical cover, containing relics. | ||
| (To face p. [137.]) | ||
| [XXII.] | Saracenic Glass. Pilgrim bottle; brownish,amber-coloured thick glass, enamelled and gilt.(H. about 8 in.) On the flattened back a rose-wheeldesign. Long preserved at Würzburg;said to come from Mesopotamia. Circa 1300A.D. British Museum. | |
| (To face p. [153.]) | ||
| [XXIII.] | Saracenic Glass. Tall-necked bottle; decoratedwith enamelled and gilt medallions, Chinesephœnix, etc. (H. 171⁄2 in.) The inscription has beenread ‘Glory to our Lord the Sultan, the wise, thejust, the warrior King.’ Bought in Cairo. Circa1300 A.D. Victoria and Albert Museum (MyersBequest). | |
| (To face p. [154.]) | ||
| [XXIV.] | Saracenic Glass. Victoria and Albert Museum. | |
| (1) Small lamp of clear white glass, a little decayedon surface. (H. 81⁄4 in.) Enamels of white, red,and yellow with gold, sparingly applied—horsemenwith falcons; gold frieze on rim and foot.Stated to have come from a Christian monasteryin Syria. Late thirteenth or early fourteenthcentury. Myers Bequest. | ||
| (2) Vessel for oil. Probably to be suspended in alarge mosque lamp (lantern). (H. 61⁄2 in.) Palegreenish-blue glass, with remains of the gildingthat formerly covered it. | ||
| (To face p. [156.]) | ||
| [XXV.] | Saracenic Glass. Beaker enamelled with friezeof three polo-players, between two bands withinscription in Arabic, both in praise of ‘our Lordthe Sultan’ (without date or proper name).About 1300. The silver-gilt foot and cover areprobably Augsburg work of the early sixteenthcentury. From a reproduction in water-colours ofthe original in the Grüne Gewölbe, Dresden. | |
| (To face p. [162.]) | ||
| [XXVI.] | Saracenic Glass. Mosque lamp (H. 16 in.)from Cairo. Clear white glass with manybubbles. Eight handles for suspension. Designof lotus-blossom, etc., outlined in opaque red,and the interstices filled with translucent blueenamel. Early fourteenth century. Victoria andAlbert Museum (Myers Bequest). | |
| (To face p. [168.]) | ||
| [XXVII.] | (1) Drinking-cup (Diam. 51⁄2 in.) of honey-colouredglass. In centre, enamelled figure of‘the angel who serves the wine to the faithful.’Angel’s wings and surrounding band, gold upona lavender-blue ground. Persian in style, butaccording to M. Schefer, possibly made atErmenas and enamelled at Aleppo. Probablyfifteenth century. British Museum. | |
| (2) Hollow Sphere of honey-coloured enamelledglass. (Diam. 4 in.) Ornament ofchain of mosque lamp. Provenance unknown,but probably from Northern Syria. BritishMuseum. | ||
| (To face p. [172.]) | ||
| [XXVIII.] | Venetian Glass. The Aldrevandini Beaker.(H. 51⁄8 in.) Thin clear glass with black specks,enamelled with three shields bearing the armsof South German towns: (1) Three stag-hornsin fesse, azure; (2) argent, three keys in fesse,gules; (3) per fesse argent and sable, in chiefa bar. Between, apple-green leaves outlined inwhite. Some enamelling also inside. Inscriptionin Gothic letters. About 1300 A.D. BritishMuseum. | |
| (To face p. [179.]) | ||
| [XXIX.] | Venetian Glass. The Berovieri Cup. (H. c.81⁄2 in.) Coppa Nuziale (marriage cup) of deep-blueglass, enamelled and gilt. The heads ofbride and bridegroom in medallions. Between,(1) a procession of knights and ladies approachinga fountain; (2) bathing in fountain. Attributedto Angelo Berovieri. About 1440. MuseoCivico, Venice. | |
| (To face p. [194.]) | ||
| [XXX.] | Venetian Glass. (1) Lamp for suspension,enamelled with studs of white on colouredground. (H. 11 in.) Shield with stemma ofTiepolo family. Early sixteenth century. MuseoCivico, Venice. | |
| (2) Stemless cup of thin clear glass. (H. 51⁄2in.) Decorated with scrolls, lions, and birds, in‘painted’ enamel. About 1450. Dug up whileexcavating the foundations of the new Campanile.Museo Civico, Venice. | ||
| (To face p. [199].) | ||
| [XXXI.] | Venetian Glass. Flower-vase. (H. 11 in.)Transparent, colourless glass, slightly greyish,with tendency to deliquescence on surface:threading and studs of cobalt-blue. Probablysixteenth century. British Museum. (Slade, exBernal collection.) | |
| (To face p. [200.]) | ||
| [XXXII.] | Venetian Glass. Spherical vase (H., with‘made-up’ foot, 91⁄2 in.) of opaque white glass,decorated with gilt scrolls and bosses and a pairof rudely drawn mermaids. Sixteenth century.British Museum. (Slade, ex D’Azeglio collection.) | |
| (To face p. [203.]) | ||
| [XXXIII.] | Venetian Glass. Pilgrim’s bottle. (H. 61⁄2 in.)Design (Cupid fishing, and Venus and Anchises)painted in blue on opaque white (lattimo) ground.Early sixteenth century. Museo Civico, Venice. | |
| (To face p. [204.]) | ||
| [XXXIV.] | Venetian Glass, enamelled and gilt. Earlysixteenth century. British Museum. | |
| (1) Plate of thin glass. (Diam. 7 in.) In centrea shield with oak tree, green and gold on blueground. (? Rovere arms.) Round margin a ringof delicate pattern in powder gold. Early sixteenthcentury. (Slade collection.) | ||
| (2) Tazza of thin glass. (Diam. 6 in.) Coatof arms in lozenge in centre, surrounded by ringwith flowers in oval medallions—apple-green,dull red, blue and yellow enamels. Powdergold band round margin. (Slade, ex Bernalcollection.) | ||
| (To face p. [214.]) | ||
| [XXXV.] | French Glass of Renaissance. BritishMuseum. (Slade collection.) | |
| (1) Statuette of Louis XIII. or XIV. (H. 41⁄4 in.)Opaque white glass with coloured enamels. Probablymade at Nevers. Seventeenth century. | ||
| (2) Statuette of man with muff. (H. of figure,5 in.) Opaque white, porcelain-like glass, ona copper base. On stand of white Dresdenchina, partly gilt. | ||
| (3) Small burette (H. 5 in.) of dark greenish-bluetransparent glass; the body and necksplashed with green, white, and red enamels.Gilt berry-like bosses on body. Probably sixteenthcentury. | ||
| (To face p. [233.]) | ||
| [XXXVI.] | Spanish Glass. Victoria and Albert Museum. | |
| (1) Vase of pale bottle-green glass; fourhandles with quilled edges. (H. 61⁄2 in.) Fromthe South of Spain. Sixteenth or seventeenthcentury. | ||
| (2) Jug of white transparent glass (H. 81⁄2 in.),made at S. Ildefonso. | ||
| (3) Vase of transparent glass, slightly greenish.(H. 6 in.) Two handles with quilled edges.From the South of Spain. Sixteenth or seventeenthcentury. | ||
| (To face p. [245.]) | ||
| [XXXVII.] | German Glass. Roemer of green glass; berryprunts on waist; the foot built up of glass stringing.Circa 1600. Germanic Museum, Nuremberg. | |
| (To face p. [254.]) | ||
| [XXXVIII.] | German Glass Furnace. Sixteenth century.From Agricola, De Re Metallica, Basle, 1556. | |
| (To face p. [260.]) | ||
| [XXXIX.] | German Glass. Willkomm Humpen, enamelledin colours with the Reichs-adler. On the wings,as recorded by an inscription on the back, thearms of the various members of the Holy RomanEmpire. Dated 1656. Greenish glass; belowmargin, a ring of ‘powdered’ gold, between beadingof white and blue enamel. British Museum(Henderson Bequest). | |
| (To face p. [264.]) | ||
| [XL.] | German Glass. British Museum. | |
| (1) Beaker of clear white glass. (H. 51⁄2 in.)Enamelled with double eagle, white and blue,with yellow beaks and claws; at the back a sprigof lily-of-the-valley. Dated 1596. From theBernal collection. | ||
| (2) Jug of pale purple glass (H. 8 in.) withpewter lid. Enamelled with a white dog pursuinga red stag and fox. In addition green, blue,and yellow enamels. Dated 1595. From theSlade collection. | ||
| (To face p. [267.]) | ||
| [XLI.] | German Glass. Willkomm Humpen. Enamelledin colours with hunting scene, the gamebeing driven into net. About 1600. BritishMuseum. | |
| (To face p. [268.]) | ||
| [XLII.] | German Glass. Covered beaker of clear whiteglass. (H. with cover 63⁄4 in.) Engraved withdesign of amorini dancing among vines. Themetal knob of cover is enamelled and gilt, andon the interior button are enamelled the arms ofthe Archbishop of Trèves, with the followinginscription:—Joan Hugo D.G. Arc. Trev. PR.EL. EP. SP. Early eighteenth century. | |
| (To face p. [283.]) | ||
| [XLIII.] | Dutch Glass. Beaker in the form of a roemer.(H. 9 in.) On the bowl, in medallions, headssymbolising the four seasons, scratched with thediamond. The waist, decorated with berry prunts,showing remains of gilding. On this part isscratched (in English) ‘August the 18th, 1663,’and the letters W.H.E. between bay branches. On thefoot a landscape with hunting scene. BritishMuseum. | |
| (To face p. [296.]) | ||
| [XLIV.] | English Wine-Glasses. British Museum. | |
| (1) Wine-glass, early eighteenth century. (H.83⁄4 in.) The hollow knop of the moulded stemis decorated with prunts and encloses a sixpenceof Queen Anne (dated 1707). | ||
| (2) Jacobite wine-glass with opaque twistedstem. (H. 73⁄4 in.) On the bowl is engraved aportrait of the Young Pretender, inscribed ‘Cognoscuntme mei’; at the back are the wordsPremium Virtutis under a crown. | ||
| (3) Jacobite wine-glass with air-twisted stem.Round the bowl are engraved the words ‘ImmortalMemory’; above, a band of vine-leaves,and below, fleurs-de-lis and roses. Presented byMr. A. Hartshorne. | ||
| (To face p. [327.]) | ||
| [XLV.] | English Flint Glass. Victoria and AlbertMuseum. | |
| (1) Standing cup and cover (H. 12 in.) onsquare, stepped foot. Carved in relief with gadroonsdescending spirally. End of eighteenthcentury. Presented by Mr. H. B. Lennard. | ||
| (2) Bowl standing on square base. (H. 81⁄2 in.)The whole of the surface facetted; the undersurface of the foot cut into square compartments.End of eighteenth century. Presented by Mr.H. B. Lennard. | ||
| (To face p. [332.]) | ||
| [XLVI.] | Persian Glass. Tall-necked vase of colourlessglass; body shaped in a mould; appliqué stringingson foot. Taken from a tomb at Baku.Vincent Robinson collection. | |
| (To face p. [338.]) | ||
| [XLVII.] | Persian Glass. Victoria and Albert Museum.Seventeenth or eighteenth century. | |
| (1) Tall-necked, pear-shaped vase, the surfacespirally ribbed, of deep blue transparent glass.(H. 11 in.) | ||
| (2) Cruet-shaped vase of clear white glass.(H. 9 in.) From the Richard collection. | ||
| (3) Perfume sprinkler, with curved neck andbarnacle-shaped lip. Blue transparent glass, thesurface spirally ribbed. (H. 12 in.) | ||
| (To face p. [340.]) | ||
| [XLVIII.] | Indian Glass. Indian Museum. Vase or basinwith wide-spreading lip. (H. 53⁄4 in.) Milky,semi-transparent glass; the ground gilt, surroundingwhite flowers, with pistils of red enamel.Provenance unknown. (Delhi district?) | |
| (To face p. [343.]) | ||
| [XLIX.] | Chinese Glass. Victoria and Albert Museum. | |
| (1) Bowl of mottled green glass with purplemarkings, imitating jade. (H. 27⁄8 in.) Eighteenthcentury. From the Bernal collection. | ||
| (2) Spindle-shaped vase of orange, ‘tortoise-shell’glass. (H. 71⁄2 in.) The stopper of silver,inlaid with Chinese characters; the base European. | ||
| (3) Small tripod vase of mottled yellow glass,in form of incense-burner. (H. 33⁄4 in.) Eighteenthcentury. | ||
| (To face p. [350.]) |
SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY OF WORKS ON GLASS
Agricola (Georg): De Re Metallica (last chapter of work). Basle, 1556.
Appert (L.) et Henrivaux: Verre et Verrerie. Paris, 1894.
Appert (L.): Notes sur les verres des Vitraux Anciens. Paris, 1896.
Bapst (A.): Chinesische Glasarbeiten; Zeitschrift für Bildende Kunst, 1885.
Bate (Percy): English Table-Glass. No date. (1904?)
Biringuccio (V.): De la Pirotechnia. Venice, 1540.
Blancourt (Haudicquer de): L’Art de la Verrerie. Paris, 1697.
Bontemps (G.):—
Guide du Verrier. Paris, 1868.
Exposé des moyens employés pour la fabrication des Verres Filigranés. 1845.
Bordoni: L’Arte Vetraria in Altare. Savona, 1884.
Bosc d’Antic (P.): Mémoires sur l’Art de la Verrerie. Paris, 1780.
Boutellier (L’Abbé): Histoire des Gentilshommes Verriers de Nevers.
Brent (John): ‘On Chevron Beads.’ Archæologia, vol. xlv.
Brinckmann (Justus): Various Catalogues, etc., of the Hamburg Museum.
Bucher (B.): Die Glassammlung des K.K. Oesterreich. Museum. Vienna, 1888.
Oriental Ceramic Art. New York, 1899.
Chinese Art, vol. ii. (South Kensington Art Handbooks). 1906.
Busselin (D.): Les Célèbres Verreries de Venise. Venice, 1846.
Cecchetti:—
Delle Origini dell’ Arte Vetraria Muranese. R. Institute Veneto, 1872.
Monographie dell’ Arte Vetraria. Venice, 1874.
Czihak (E. von): Schlesische Gläser. Breslau, 1891.
Dalton (O. M.):—
Catalogue of Early Christian Antiquities in the British Museum—Cemetery Glasses. 1901.
‘Gilded Glass of Catacombs.’ Archæological Journal, 1901.
Deville (A.): Histoire de l’Art de la Verrerie dans l’Antiquité. Paris, 1873.
Dobbs (H. C.): ‘Glass-blowers of North-west Provinces.’ Journal of Indian Art, vol. vii.
Eraclius: see Heraclius.
Fillon (B.): L’Art de Terre chez les Poitevins. Niort, 1864.
Fioravanti (L.): Dello Specchio di Scienza Universale, Bk. vii. cap. 29. Venice, 1567.
Fourcaud (L. de): Émile Gallé. Paris, 1903.
Fowler (J.): ‘On the Process of Decay in Glass.’ Archæologia, vol. xlvi.
Franks (Sir A. W.):—
Guide to Glass Room in British Museum, 1888.
Art Treasures of United Kingdom. Vitreous Art. 1858.
Friedrich (C.): Die Altdeutschen Gläser. Nürnberg, 1884.
Froehner (W.): La Verrerie Antique. Collection Charvet, 1879.
Garnier (E.):—
Histoire de la Verrerie et de l’Émaillerie. Tours, 1886.
Spitzer Catalogue, vol. iii. ‘La Verrerie.’
Garrucci (P. R.):—
Storia dell’ Arte Christiana, vol. iii. 1876.
Vetri ornati di Figure in Oro. 1858 and 1864.
Garzoni (T.): Piazza Universale di tutte le professioni del Mondo. Discorso lxiv. Venice, 1585.
Gerspach: L’Art de la Verrerie. Paris, 1885.
Griffith (F.): Egypt Exploration Fund. Tanis, Part ii. 1888.
Hallen (Rev. A.): ‘Glass-making in Sussex, etc.’ Scottish Antiquary, 1893.
Hartshorne (Albert): Old English Glasses. 1897.
Havard (H.): Les Arts de l’Ameublement. La Verrerie. Paris, 1894.
Heraclius or Eraclius: De Artibus et Coloribus Romanorum. Eitelberger von Edelberg: Quellenschriften für Kunstgeschichte, vol. iv.
Hirth (F.): Chinesische Studien; Zur Geschichte des Glases in China. Leipsic, 1890. And other papers.
D’Holbach (Baron)?: Art de la Verrerie, de Neri, Merret et Kunckel. Paris, 1752.
D’Hondt (P.): L’Art de la Verrerie. Liége, 1891.
Houdoy (J.): Verrerie à la façon de Venise. Paris, 1873.
Kunckel (J.): Ars Vitraria Experimentalis. 1679.
Labarte (J.):—
La Collection Debruge Duménil. Paris, 1847.
Histoire des Arts Industriels, vol. iv. Paris, 1866.
Lacroix (P.): Les Arts au Moyen Âge et à l’Époque de la Renaissance. Paris, 1869.
Lane-Poole (S.):—
The Art of the Saracens in Egypt. London, 1886.
Arabic Glass Weights in British Museum. 1891.
Layard (Sir A. H.): Nineveh and its Remains. 1853.
Lazari (V.): Notizia delle Opere d’Arte della Raccolta Correr. Venice, 1859.
Lobmeyr (L.): Die Glas-industrie. Stuttgart, 1874.
Loysel (C.): Essai sur la Verrerie. Paris, 1800. (Written earlier.)
Mathesius: Sarepta oder Bergpostil (Sermon xv.). Nürnberg, 1562.
Merret (C.): The Art of Glass of Neri translated into English. London, 1662.
Milanesi (G.): Tre Trattatelli dell’ Arte del Vetro per Mosaici. (Fifteenth century MSS.) 1864.
Minutoli (H. de): Ueber der Anfertigung der farbigen Gläser bei den Römern. Berlin, 1836.
Molinier (E.): La Peinture sous Verre. Spitzer Catalogue, vol. iii.
Naples: Description of Museo Borbonico. Glass, vols. v., xi., and xv.
Neri (A.): L’Arte Vetraria. 1612.
Nesbitt (A.):—
Catalogue of Slade Collection of Glass. Privately printed, 1871.
Catalogue of Glass Vessels in South Kensington Museum, 1878.
Glass (South Kensington Art Handbooks), 1875.
‘Opus Sectile in Glass.’ Archæologia, vol. xlv.
Encyclopædia Britannica, article ‘Glass.’ 1879.
Owen (H.): Ceramic Art in Bristol (chapter on Bristol Glass). 1873.
Passini (A.): Il Tesoro di San Marco. Venice, 1886.
Peligot (M. E.): La Verre, Histoire et Fabrication. 1876.
Pellat (Apsley):—
Curiosities of Glass-making. London, 1849.
Memoir on the Origin, etc., of Glass-making. London, 1821.
Pelletier: Les Verriers du Lyonnais. 1887.
Petrie (Flinders):—
Burlington Fine Arts Club; Introduction to Catalogue of Egyptian Exhibition, 1895.
Tell-el-Amarna. Egypt Exploration Fund. 1894.
Pinchart (A.): Les Fabriques des Verres de Venise, d’Anvers et de Bruxelles au XVIe. et au XVIIe. siècles. Bulletins des Commissions Royales. Bruxelles, 1882.
Plinius Secundus (Caius): Historia Naturalis, Bk. xxxvi. caps. 44-47.
Porter (G. R.): ‘Glass and Porcelain.’ Lardner’s Cabinet Encyclopædia. London, 1832.
Powell (H. J.):—
Principles of Glass-making. London, 1883.
Encyclopædia Britannica, article ‘Glass.’ 1902.
Read (C. H.):—
‘Glass in South Saxon Graves.’ Archæologia, vol. lv.
‘On a Saracenic Goblet of Enamelled Glass.’ Archæologia, vol. lviii.
Riaño (J. F.): Industrial Arts in Spain, Part ii. (South Kensington Handbooks). 1879.
Santi (M.): Origini dell’ Arte Vetraria in Venezia e Murano.
Sauzay (A.):—
La Verrerie depuis les Temps les plus reculés. Paris, 1868.
Marvels of Glass-making. (Translation of above.) London, 1870.
Schebek (E.): Böhmens Glasindustrie und Glashandel. Prague, 1878.
Schmoranz (G.): Old Oriental Gilt and Enamelled Vessels. German and English Editions. Vienna and London, 1899.
Schuermans (H.): The Wanderings of the Muranese and Altarist Glass-workers. Eleven Letters. Bulletins des Commissions Royales. Bruxelles, 1883-1891.
Spitzer Catalogue. See Garnier and Molinier.
Theophilus: Diversarum Artium Schedula. Eitelberger von Edelberg. Quellenschriften für Kunstgeschichte, vol. viii. Vienna, 1874.
Ure (A.): Dictionary of Arts, article ‘Glass.’ 1853.
Vopel (H.): Die Altchristlichen Goldgläser. Freiberg, 1899.
Zanetti (V.):—
Monographia della Vetraria Veneziana. Venice, 1873.
Museo Civico di Murano; Guida di Murano. Venice, 1866.
Egyptian, etc. Griffith, Layard, Petrie.
Greco-Roman and Roman. Deville, Froehner, Fowler, Minutoli, Naples Museum, Nesbitt, Pliny.
Early Christian, Byzantine, Anglo-Saxon, etc. Brent, Dalton, Garrucci, Heraclius, Passini, Read, Theophilus, Vopel.
Saracenic and Perso-Indian. Lane-Poole, Dobbs, Read, Schmoranz.
Venetian (Murano and Altare). Biringuccio, Bontemps, Bordoni, Busselin, Cecchetti, Fioravanti, Garzoni, Houdoy, Labarte, Lazari, Neri, Pinchart, Santi, Schuermans, Zanetti.
French and Spanish. Boutellier, Fillon, Fourcaud, Gamier, Gerspach, Pelletier, Riaño.
German. Agricola, Brinckmann, Von Czihak, Friedrich, Kunckel, Lobmeyr, Mathesius, Schebek.
English. Bate, Hallen, Hartshorne, Merret, Owen, Pellat.
Chinese. Bapst, Bushell, Hirth.
Technical. Appert, Blancourt, Bontemps, Bosc d’Antic, D’Holbach, Kunckel, Lobmeyr, Loysel, Merret, Neri, Peligot, Pellat, Porter, Powell, Ure.
General and historical. Brinckmann, Franks, Garnier, Gerspach, Havard, Labarte, Lacroix, Nesbitt, Sauzay.
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
Glass is a substance in so many ways connected with the conveniences and amenities of our daily life, and the word calls up so many varied associations, that I must here at the very beginning make clear with what a comparatively small proportion of the manifold applications of the substance I have to deal.
In the first place, this is an art history, so that with methods of manufacture and practical uses we are only concerned so far as they may influence or help to explain points of artistic interest. Again, even on the artistic side, it is not with every branch of the varied applications of glass that we shall be occupied in this work. By an anomaly of the English language, whose vocabulary for matters connected with the arts is so strangely deficient, we have come to understand by the term ‘glass,’ when used without further explanation, what is called in the trade ‘hollow ware,’ the verrerie of the French; in other words—vessels of glass. The term may also be extended to include various minor applications of the material—beads, small ornaments, etc., what the French call verroterie. But the application of glass to windows, especially when coloured and stained glass is in question, to say nothing of work in mosaic, is usually, although not always, held to lie outside this narrower connotation of the word.
Now it happens that for us this restriction is in every way convenient. For though the material basis is the same, it is evident that both the artist who works in mosaic and the designer of stained windows are concerned, each in his department, with artistic problems only incidentally connected with the material in which they work. In other words, the art element in both these crafts only becomes prominent at a stage when the actual preparation of the glass is completed. It is, however, certainly a pity that there is no English word which would not only clearly connote the class of objects with which I have here to deal, but which would at the same time distinctly comprise nothing beyond.
I have now explained the somewhat restricted and artificial sense of the word glass that I propose to accept in this work. But for a moment let us pass to the other extreme, and going beyond the ordinary connotation of the term include in it the glazes of pottery—the word ‘glaze’ is in its origin the same as glass—as well as the many forms of enamel. In all these cases we are dealing with substances of similar composition. They may all probably be traced back to a common origin, so that from an evolutionary point of view we have here an instance of the development of the complex and varied from the simple and single. Looking at the question in another way, the art of the enameller, using the term in a restricted sense, may be held to be subsidiary both to that of the potter and of the glass-worker; while many of the problems that arise in treating of the glazes of fictile wares—questions as to fusibility, or as to the colours employed and the changes of these colours during the firing—turn up again in the manufacture of glass. We shall see that experience gained in following the processes of one art may serve to throw light upon the difficulties and problems of the other.
Historically the connection between glass and pottery is not so close. In some degree the prevalence of one art has tended to oust the other, or to relegate it to an inferior position. The Greeks, who carried the potter’s art to such perfection, knew little about glass—it was long an exotic substance for them. The Romans, on the other hand, who in the first centuries of our era first fully appreciated and developed the capacities of glass, produced little pottery of artistic interest. In the sixteenth century, in Umbria and Tuscany, where the finest majolica was made, we hear nothing of the manufacture of glass, while on the other hand the fayence of Venice, at this time pre-occupied with her glass, was of subsidiary importance. If we turn to the home of porcelain, in China glass has always held a subordinate position, while in Japan it was until recent days practically unknown.
Were a comparison to be made between the development of the various minor arts, it would be difficult to find a wider contrast than that between the history of porcelain and that of glass. The knowledge of porcelain was confined for nearly a thousand years to China, the country where it was first made, and where it was slowly brought to perfection. Let loose, as it were, in the West early in the eighteenth century, it had then a short period of glory, but before the end of the century the art had already fallen upon evil days. The manufacture of glass, on the other hand, had long been carried on in Egypt, and perhaps in other Eastern lands, by a primitive process, although it only became an article of general use after the discovery of the blowing-iron. When and where this discovery was made we do not know—perhaps somewhere in Syria or Mesopotamia, in the third or second century before Christ. The art of blowing glass was known, no doubt, if not fully developed, at the time when the kingdoms of the Ptolemies and of the Seleucidæ fell under the rule of the Romans. By them it was before long brought to perfection and carried into every corner of the West, so that by the second or third century of our era the production of glass in Europe was probably greater than at any subsequent time, at least until quite recent days. Nor was the art of glass-making completely extinguished by ‘the advance of the barbarians.’ Indeed, some of the Germanic tribes not impossibly brought with them a knowledge of the process not only of preparing but also of blowing glass, picked up on their journeyings through East Europe, or perhaps even learned in Western Asia. This was an instance of the passage to the North and West of the arts of civilisation, by what we may call the back-road of Europe, in opposition to the high-roads that led directly from Italy by way of the Rhone and the Rhine.
But in the West the manufacture, though continuously carried on in many spots, was after the fall of the Western Empire relegated to the woods,—for nearly a thousand years little glass was produced of any artistic interest. Indeed, but few examples of this forest or green glass of the Middle Ages have survived to our time. During all this long interval, in one direction only, in the West, was any advance made. Within this period falls the great development of stained glass: we must turn to the glorious windows of the cathedrals of France and other Western lands, to see what the glass-workers of the time were capable of producing. In the East, on the other hand, in the lands ruled from Constantinople or influenced by Byzantine civilisation, what we know of the glass of the early Middle Ages is almost confined to the mosaic coverings of the walls of the contemporary churches. But just as distinctly as the glass in the windows of the Gothic churches, this mosaic work, for the reason we have already given, falls outside our limits.
It was not till the end of the twelfth century that any important advance was made in our narrower department of ‘hollow ware.’ Among the many beautiful things made during that glorious season of artistic production that had its start about this time in Egypt (or perhaps, rather, in the lands between the Persian Gulf and the Mediterranean)—except it be the inlaid metal work—there is nothing that now interests us so much as the enamelled glass, the beautiful ware that culminated in the magnificent Cairene mosque lamps of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. The art of enamelling on glass passed over to Venice in the fifteenth century, perhaps earlier, and there in the next century the manufacture of the famous cristallo was finally achieved, and complete mastery was obtained in the working of this pure white glass. A fresh start was now given to the industry in the north by means of the Venetian glass-workers, who were sought for in every country to teach their new methods.
In Germany alone did some of the traditions of the old forest-workers of ‘green-glass’ survive. By the end of the seventeenth century the German glass, in some respects to be regarded as a compromise between the old and new, had become the most important in Europe. For a hundred years the products of ‘the mountain fringe of Bohemia’ held the premier position, but towards the end of the eighteenth century this place was taken by the facetted flint-glass of England. It is certainly remarkable that it is only of quite recent years that any such prominent position could be claimed for France, which heretofore had been content to follow in the wake first of Venice and then of Germany and of England. At the present day, however, this at least may be said—that France is almost the only country where any really artistic work in glass, apart from the reproduction of old patterns and old methods, is being produced.
This hasty sketch of the history of glass-making will help us to understand why it is that in following the development of the art in so many lands, and for a period of more than three thousand years, there is no need to linger for any time except at a few of the more important étapes. Indeed such a procedure is forced upon us, for much of the road is quite barren, other parts are unexplored, while for whole stages we pass through prosaic districts where we find little of artistic merit to detain us.
The periods, then, of real importance in the history of glass, either from the cultur-historisch or from a purely artistic point of view, are separated by long intervals, during which little of interest was produced. The primitive glass of Egypt, the varied productions of the first centuries of the Roman Empire, the enamelled glass of the Saracens, and the Venetian glass of the Renaissance—this exhausts all that we find either of commanding historic interest or of superlative artistic merit. What follows—the German and the Netherlandish glass of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries—is still of some importance under both these heads. I can hardly say so much of the English glass of the eighteenth century; but this glass must not be neglected—it is English, and it is highly prized by many enthusiastic collectors.
It will be seen that there is a long gap between the first and second of our critical periods—between the beginning of the primitive Egyptian and the earliest Roman glass. This gap will be filled, in some measure, by some account of the rare surviving specimens of glass that can claim an Assyrian origin, of the glass pastes of the Mycenæan age, and of the few examples of glass that can be strictly classed as Greek of the classical age. So again of the second long hiatus—the interval of nearly a thousand years between the period of the Roman glass and that of the Saracens,—this may be partly filled by the few scanty pieces that have come down to us from Sassanian and Byzantine times. To this period belongs also the glass of the Germanic tribes of northern Europe, above all that of our Anglo-Saxon ancestors.
Some notice must also be taken of a few districts situated on bypaths, of the glass from countries that lie away from the main centres of production—these latter centres, I may note, until comparatively recent times are mostly to be found in close connection with the basin of the Mediterranean. To these outlying districts we must finally turn to examine the glass of Persia, of India, and above all the glass of China.
An interesting chapter, nay, a separate work, might be devoted to the classification and history of a class of objects of which the manufacture has been carried on continuously and with few changes from the time of the Middle Empire in Egypt—of beads, I mean, and other allied applications of glass, included in the French term verroterie. But, however great the claims to attention of such objects, their interest is rather archæological than artistic, and it will be sufficient to treat of them incidentally along with the, for us, more important class of ‘hollow ware’ produced with the aid of the glass-blower’s tube.