The Glass-Blowers: A Novel of the French Revolution

Product Information

Mold-blowing was an alternative glassblowing method that came after the invention of free-blowing, during the first part of the second quarter of the 1st century AD. [10] [11] A glob of molten glass is placed on the end of the blowpipe, and is then inflated into a wooden or metal carved mold. In that way, the shape and the texture of the bubble of glass is determined by the design on the interior of the mold rather than the skill of the glassworker. [4] Scientific glassblowers are charged with manufacturing laboratory equipment in glass, using glass rods, tubes and prefabricated components.

Ennion for example, was among the most prominent glassworkers from Lebanon of the time. He was renowned for producing the multi-paneled mold-blown glass vessels that were complex in their shapes, arrangement and decorative motifs. [11] [12] [13] The complexity of designs of these mold-blown glass vessels illustrated the sophistication of the glassworkers in the eastern regions of the Roman Empire. Mold-blown glass vessels manufactured by the workshops of Ennion and other contemporary glassworkers such as Jason, Nikon, Aristeas, and Meges, constitutes some of the earliest evidence of glassblowing found in the eastern territories. [12] [28]Glassblowing was invented by Syrian craftsmen from Sidon and Babylon between 27 BC and 14 AD. The ancient Romans copied the technique consisting of blowing air into molten glass with a blowpipe making it into a bubble. [18] [19] [20] [21] Present, Italy) Lino Tagliapietra is one of Italy’s finest glass artists. David Harpe, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons I’ve been saying this for years,” my brother Pierre would remark, when he came to visit us. “What we need is a written Constitution as they have in America, with equal rights for all, and no privileged classes. Our laws and legal system are out of date, along with our economy; and the King can do nothing about it. Feudalism has him in thrall as it has the whole country...” Wearing high-quality safety glasses is extremely important when glassblowing. The work environment is dangerous due to the amount of heat and delicate glass being used. Some risks to glassblowers’ eyes include: shattered glass, sodium flares from the heating compounds found in glass, UV light, and infrared light.

The British Society of Scientific Glassblowers was founded in 1960 for the benefit of those engaged in scientific glassblowing and its associated professions, and to uphold and further the status of scientific glassblowers. Carol Milne is the world’s only knitted glass artist. She began to work seriously in glass in 2000, after experimenting with clay, bronze, wood, and other materials. Her work is a metaphor for social structure. She describes how individual strands of her work are weak, but when woven together make a singular, strong piece.

By Mona Abdou

The transformation of raw materials into glass takes place at around 1,320°C (2,400°F); [16] the glass emits enough heat to appear almost white hot. The glass is then left to "fine out" (allowing the bubbles to rise out of the mass), and then the working temperature is reduced in the furnace to around 1,090°C (2,000°F). At this stage, the glass appears to be a bright orange color. Though most glassblowing is done between 870 and 1,040°C (1,600 and 1,900°F), "soda-lime" glass remains somewhat plastic and workable at as low as 730°C (1,350°F). Annealing is usually done between 371 and 482°C (700 and 900°F). Since the 1st century BC to the studio movement of the 1960s, glassblowing has flourished as a functional and artistic craft. Using essentially the same method the Syrians used over 2000 years ago, modern day glassblowers have turned what used to be a practical necessity into a celebrated art form. a b c d Price, J. (1991). "Decorated Mould-Blown Glass Tablewares in the First century AD". In M. Newby & K. Painter (eds.) Roman Glass: Two Centuries of Art and Invention. pp. 56–75. The Society of Antiquaries of London: London ISBN 0-85431-255-2 When Robert flees to London to avoid prosecution for bankruptcy, he leaves his young son Jacques behind in the care of his mother. Although the Society is primarily for scientific glassblowers, we encourage anyone with an interest in glassworking to join – glass as a material holds an interest for many, and glassworkers provide a huge range of products, from glass beads and jewellery, to paperweights, decorative and practical vessels of every shape, size and colour, and sculpture intended for purely aesthetic effect. Were it not for these artists and craftsmen throughout history, scientific glassblowing would not exist as a craft. The Society holds a quite sizeable library, to which members have free access.

Lightfoot, C.S. (1987). "A Group of early Roman Mould-Blown Flasks from the West". Journal of Glass Studies. 29: 11–18.Glass blowers would take a blob of glass at the end of a pontil and twirl it so the blob would spin and grow outwards to as much as five feet wide. He is remembered for his master of hot shaping sculpture and was knighted by the President of Italy in 1989. Signoretto passed away in 2017. From the original review in The Winona Daily News, March 1963: The distaff side of any list of popular writers is incomplete without a mention of Lady Browning, better known by her maiden name, Daphne du Maurier .