Crizzling and the Preservation of Glass
To the right is a photomicrographic of the crizzled surface of a 1725-1750 wineglass.
Probably the most difficult step in the conservation of glass is to find the best way to protect it from environmental damage, especially from the chemical attack of water in the form of atmospheric moisture (humidity).
Treatments to the surface of the glass object and/or installation in an atmospherically controlled display case can only temporarily protect an object from the chemical attack of moisture.
Additionally, when an object has been made with ingredients that tend to draw moisture into the glass surface over may years, surface cracking, called crizzling can develop if the object is placed in a dehydrating environment.
Ideally, the safest condition for threatened glasses is to be in a steady state of humidity where neither hydration nor dehydration would occur, and its range would be approximately that to which the glasses had become accustomed in their earlier histories. A solution to this conservation problem has yet to be found. Research continues.
You may have picked-up a piece of old glass from the ground, shoreline, creek, or riverside and noticed interesting colors on the surface of the glass. Naturally occurring changes to glass surfaces such as crizzling, and chemical migrants that cause iridescence and color change, have been duplicated chemically by designers and artists for decorative effect. This collaboration between the chemist and the artist/designer is one small example of how Science and Art can work together.
Solarized Glass (See: Solarized Glass )
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(See: Cast and Cut )
(See: Luxury Glass )
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(See: Engraving )