Monthly Archives: July 2010

Restoration of Prunted Beaker (Part Two)

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In the second part of this series, Stephen Koob, the Museum’s conservator, describes the methods used to fill the losses of a prunted beaker on display in Medieval Glass for Popes, Princes, and Peasants. 

 

Now that the beaker has been reassembled, Koob uses plasticine to first create a backing for the losses. Plaster of paris is mixed and poured carefully on top of the backing, creating a perfect match for the loss. The plaster “piece” is then removed and a mold made of it using silicone rubber.  Koob uses epoxy resin to create a cast of the actual fill piece. Acrylic adhesive is used to put the fill piece in place and, with a little clean-up, the result is a fully restored, structurally stable piece.

Hot Shop in a Box

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The Corning Museum of Glass blows glass around the world: on the decks of Celebrity Cruise ships, on several stages at The Corning Museum of Glass, and on mobile stages at venues around the world. One of the programs we offer is GlassLab, which brings top designers together with our glassmakers to explore and prototype designs in glass.

Recently, architect Paul Haigh worked with us to put our hot shop in a box that can be shipped around the world. This robust, fully equipped glassblowing demonstration stage fits into a twenty foot shipping container. The container arrives on site on the back of a trailer which is moved as close to the final location as possible. The container has four large hydraulic legs, one at each corner; the legs extend outwards past the width of the trailer and then extend downwards eventually lifting the container off of the trailer.

If it’s necessary to move the trailer further, gigantic casters are fitted into the ends of the hydraulic legs and the container is rolled to its final location.  Weight-spreading feet are attached to the legs when it’s at its final location.

The trailer has small doors at either end and twin larger doors on the side. The twin doors are opened so that the container will form the back portion of the stage. The trailer contains everything necessary for glassblowing. There is a gas distribution system which can use either natural gas or propane. There is an electrical distribution panel. The actual equipment can be modified to suit the location. Generally there is a gas fired melting furnace of 130 pounds.  The container can accommodate up to two gloryholes. 

There is also an annealer, an iron warmer and a place to heat color bar.  The stage in the front can be built to suit the location: typically it is 24 feet wide and 16 out from the trailer.

The container has room for a canopy, spare parts, glassblowing tools and supplies, tools to repair the equipment and a sound system.  The big advantage of the container is that it is easy to ship.  It has been lashed to the deck of cargo ships and shipped across the Atlantic.  It has been hauled by trucks both in North America and Europe. It has been lifted into place with a crane.  This system is extremely flexible and will allow glassblowing in locations which were previously impossible or impractical.

The GlassLab container stage debuted at the Vitra Design Museum in Weil am Rhein, Germany, during the Art Basel 2010 fair. Check out our YouTube videos to see designers like Wendell Castle, Max Lamb, Sigga Heimis and Jeff Zimmerman working on the new hotshop.

Restoring a Glass Liberty Bell

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Stephen Koob, the Museum's conservator, demonstrates where the missing piece would be adhered.

 

 Glassmaking was one of the first industries to develop in America, with the first glasshouse built in the colony of Jamestown in 1608. This weekend, we celebrated 234 years as an independent nation, so it’s timely that a team of Museum staff installed in the galleries a large, American cut glass Liberty Bell that is on long-term loan to the Museum from Dr. Kenneth Braunstein.     

The glass Liberty Bell during reconstruction.

 

Made for display at the 1905 Lewis and Clark Exposition in Portland, OR, the glass Liberty Bell was cut in Rochester, PA, by the H.C. Fry Glass Company. One of the largest single pieces to have been cut during the Brilliant Period, the bell weighs 32 pounds and measures 18” tall and 20.5” wide, with some of the cuts at least 3/4” deep. The piece depicts crossed American flags and the Great Shield of the United States, with large 24-point hobstars. It was shown at the Fry showroom in New York City for an unknown length of time and was discovered in a storeroom by a worker at the Fry plant when the company was being dissolved. The worker bought the bell and displayed it in his living room until his death. It passed through the hands of several owners, until being bought by Dr. Braunstein.    

The glass Liberty Bell after conservation, now installed in the Museum's American Glass Gallery.

The piece had not had any restoration work done until arriving at the Museum this past spring. You can see some of the phases of restoration work in these photos. The glass Liberty Bell is now on display in the Museum’s American Glass Gallery.