Listen as glass artist William Gudenrath describes the techniques used to make this glass object. This Tazza is enameled with the coat of arms of the Medici family combined with crossed keys and a papal tiara, suggesting that they were made for a member of the church, most probably either Pope Leo

Listen as former curator David Whitehouse describes the Corning Ewer, an outstanding example of Islamic relief-cut cameo glass. A layer of transparent light green glass was applied to a layer of colorless glass. Most of the outer layer was then cut away, leaving the decoration in relief. Although

Listen as curator Jane Shadel Spillman describes the Morgan Vase. The Victorian sense of "good taste" emphasized ornate works. Some glassmakers met this demand by creating dramatic color effects. Several American factories produced Peachblow glass, which had a surface that shaded from

Listen as curator, Tina Oldknow, describes the object "Family Matter" by American artist Jill Reynolds.

Listen as curator David Whitehouse describes an ancient Egyptian furnace. This is a full-scale model of a furnace that was used for making glass at Tell el-Amarna, Egypt, nearly 3500 years ago. The model shows half of the furnace. The lower part was constructed in a pit, with only the dome above

Listen as glass artist William Gudenrath describes the technique of making a core-formed vessel. The technique of core forming, which was introduced around the middle of the 16th century BC, was used to fashion some of the first glass vessels. Core forming involves the application of glass to a

Listen as glass artist William Gudenrath describes the technique used to make this Ravenscroft goblet. In March 1674, the English glassmaker George Ravenscroft applied for a patent to make colorless lead glass. Unfortunately, this glass was prone to crizzling, a chemical instability that results in

Listen as glass artist William Gudenrath describes the technique of making a glass bottle with handles. Although glass vessels were never as cheap as earthenware, they had several advantages. They were easy to clean, they did not impart an odor to their contents, and they allowed one to see the

Listen as glass artist William Gudenrath describes the technique used to make the Verzelini goblet. Venetian glassmakers were hired in England during the 16th century. One of them was Giacomo Verzelini. In 1571, he was brought to London by Jean Carré, a French native and owner of the Crutched

Listen as curator David Whitehouse describes an ewer signed by Ennion. The discovery that vessels could be formed and decorated by inflating a gob of glass in a mold permitted large numbers of virtually identical objects to be produced quickly and inexpensively. The first-century Roman writer Pliny