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Glass Ornaments, Glass Christmas Ornaments,
Personalized Glass Ornaments, Perfume Bottles, Ornaments Gifts |
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The history of glass blown & Ornament Making |
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A formative era in the history of glass-making is
marked by the appearance of the first glass vessels
in the middle of the 2nd millennium BC, again in
Mesopotamia and Egypt. These vessels were made by an
ingenious method involving molding on a core. Since
glass-blowing was unknown in this early period, a
core was made in the shape of the desired vessel
from a material strong enough to withstand heating
and fire able enough to be removed from the finished
article. Viscous glass was applied to this core.
The surface of the vessel was then decorated with
threads of colored glass combed into ornamental
patterns. The vessel was afterwards rolled on a flat
surface and a handle and a base were added. This
method required a high degree of skill. The colors
of the glass used in this period indicate that the
makers tried to imitate precious stones such as
lapis-lazuli and turquoise. The making of glass
vessels began almost at the same time in Egypt and
in northern Mesopotamia but there are indications
that the core technique was invented in Mesopotamia
and introduced into Egypt later. The heyday of
Egypt’s glass industry came in the Amarna period
(first half of the 14th century BC).
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Glass vessels were rare in Palestine and Syria in
the Late Bronze Age. And only princes and the very
rich could afford them. Some vessels were dedicated
to temples and shrines. Others were found in tombs.
All these vessels seem to have been imported from
Egypt, except for a Mesopotamian conical beaker
discovered at Megiddo.
Casting glass into molds was only of minor
importance during the New Kingdom, but continued to
at least a small extent after core-forming had been
abandoned due to the introduction of glass blowing
under the Romans. In the New Kingdom the Egyptians
had all they needed to produce blown glassware: the
raw materials in abundance, aerated furnaces
reaching high temperatures and ceramic blow tubes.
Still, glass blowing was not invented until the
first century BC in Syria. Mass production of blown
glass objects was not introduced until Roman times.
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Blown glass vessels
were created by sticking a piece of molten
glass onto one end of a blowpipe and through
the other end introducing pressurized air
into the pipe. This was done by blowing.
Decorations were added by pinching the hot
glass, adding handles or other features to
it like strands of differently colored glass
which could then be pinched to change simple
straight patterns into more intricate ones.
The type of glass perfume bottles we see
today in Egypt are, however, a more modern
art, probably having been made since the
beginning of the 19th century. That was when
a resurgence in the art form of glass took
place. The techniques are now handed down
from generation to generation, usually from
father to son, as the profession is mainly
limited to men.
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Today, these bottles are most numerous in the famous
Khan el-Khalili market, where one may find every
shape, size, color and ornamentation of such
bottles. Of course, they are also available in
almost every location one might find tourists in
Egypt. However, most of the glass factories are
located in Shobra el-Khema, though there are others
right in the Khan el-Khalili and elsewhere. If one
is visiting Egypt, it is not difficult to visit one
of these factories, and in fact it is sometimes hard
not to, as vendors will sometimes insistently beg
one to do so.
In order to make these products, the factories first
import fine Pyrex glass as tubes in different
textures. Most of these tubs are imported from
Czechoslovakia and Germany. After considering a
design, which is sometimes laid out on paper, but
also sometimes in the artist's head, the artist
chooses the best textured tube for his design. Next
he draws the design on the glass tube as a pattern
so that the tub can be cut into pieces that fit his
design. Then the magic beings.
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The artist begins by firing the glass and shaping
the various pieces of the perfume bottle. In some
instances, several artists may in fact work on the
same perfume bottle each blowing a different part of
the design. The fire, which heats the glass to a
very high temperature of 1000 C using pressurized
oxygen, makes the glass very flexible. At this
point, the glass is almost liquid.
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Using a number of small
tools, the glass is constantly rotated as the artist
blows air through it quickly and precisely to
achieve an exact shape. Afterwards, another
craftsman, with very different handicraft skills,
takes over the bottle in order to engrave the shaped
glass with designs. Extra care is required in
cutting into the strong but delicate glass.
Typically, a third craftsman may apply coloring to
the perfume bottle. Most of the colors, with the
exception of gold, are imported either from Germany
or Turkey. Some very beautiful effects may be
applied, while solid colored bottles will be turned
on a rotating wheel to distribute the colors
smoothly and evenly without leaving marks or uneven
streaks of color. Bottles with scenes or floral
decorations are painted by hand. On better bottles,
gold will next be applied. This is 12 ct liquid
gold, which requires care in its application. Some
bottles have gold colored paint and so are less
expensive, but also inferior to and less brilliant
than their counterparts painted with real gold.
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After the coloring and
hand painting process is completed the bottles are
put into an oven with a temperature near 500 and 650
C for about half an hour to bake or set the color on
the glass so that it is permanent. Bigger bottles
may take a few hours in the oven before the color is
set. Only after this firing do all the decorative
effects become visible. After the bottles are
removed from the oven, they need to be left out to
cool. This is the last step before they are sent to
the stores to be presented for sale.
These beautiful bottles come in a variety shapes,
colors, and sizes, from the very small to extra
large. We may find perfume bottles in abstract
designs, or in the shape of many physical objects
such as a variety of animals. There is also, it
seems, an infinite variety of stoppers from simple
tear drop shapes to intricate fish and birds.
However, other glass objects made in the same manner
are also available, such as candlestick holders and
oil burners.
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