Glassblowing Discovered
Until about 50 B.C. glass objects could only be made slowly. One bottle could take several days to make by casting, core forming, or cutting techniques. Because it was difficult and time-consuming to make, glass was a luxury item as rare as gold or precious stones.
That situation quickly changed with the discovery of glass blowing. Roman people, probably in Phoenicia (mostly modern Lebanon) discovered that an object could be formed by gathering molten glass on the end of a hollow blowing pipe, and inflating it like a bubble. It could be blown into a hollow mold to form it or freely shaped with simple tools on the end of the blow pipe. For the first time, a worker could mass-produce dozens of objects a day with glassblowing techniques. Most, but not all of these products (See Roman Luxury Glass) became common and inexpensive. Soon anyone was able to own glass.
- Casting :
- The generic name for a wide variety of techniques used to form glass in a mold.
- Core forming:
- The technique of forming a vessel by trailing or gathering molten glass around a core supported by a rod. After forming, the object is removed from the rod and annealed. After annealing, the core is removed by scraping.
- Cutting:
- The technique whereby glass is removed from the surface of an object by grinding it with a rotating wheel made of stone, wood, or metal, and an abrasive suspended in liquid. See also copper-wheel engraving, carving, and wheel engraving.
Glass—
A hot, molten substance...
Heat it and make it malleable.
Blow it, and it will grow.
Turn it, and it will shape,
And a miracle happens.
Cool it!
Jesse Munoz, 7th grade