Listen as curator David Whitehouse describes this object, a typical example of a puzzling group of glasses known as Hedwig beakers. They are unlike any other medieval objects of glass or rock crystal from the Islamic world, Byzantium, or western Christendom. These colorless or nearly colorless

Listen as curator David Whitehouse describes this display, telling the story of two remarkable lampworkers, Leopold Blaschka and his son Rudolf, who created in glass thousands of models of invertebrates, animals without backbones, as well as flowers and plants. The father began the business of

Listen as curator Dedo von Kerssenbrock-Krosigk describes the glass table and boat by the Cristalleries de Baccarat. At the 1900 World's Fair in Paris, the Parisian department store Le Grand Dépôt displayed a sculpture in the form of a boat. It was designed by Charles Vital Cornu (1851--1927),

Listen as curator Dedo von Kerssenbrock-Krosigk describes the Portrait Medallion of Louis XIV, which is made of colorless glass that was cast and later cold-painted and mirrored. It is symbolic of the presentation and gift giving of the Sun King, and together with tapestries, silver and furniture,

Listen as curator Dedo von Kerssenbrock-Krosigk describes this cut glass table. Glass furniture was popular during the last half of the 18th century. In the 19th century, some furniture was made almost entirely of large pieces of glass. The Imperial Glassworks in St. Petersburg, Russia, created

Listen as curator David Whitehouse describes these glass eyeballs made by the Blaschkas. When the curators of natural history museums displayed the mounted skins of elephants, lions, tigers and gorillas, they substituted the animals' real eyes with glass eyes made by Leopold and Rudolf

Listen as curator David Whitehouse describes this micromosaic panel in a carved gilt wood frame. The panel shows a view of St. Peter's Square in Rome at the time of a Sunday benediction by Pope Leo XIII. The Pope can be seen in the background standing on the balcony blessing a large gathering

Listen as glass artist William Gudenrath describes the technique used to make this ewer known as cane work or filigrana. This Venetian ewer is made with milk glass canes and decorated with applied lion-mask prunts (small ornaments that are like medallions stuck to the outside of a vessel).

Listen as glass artist William Gudenrath describes the technique used to make the Morgan cup. The rarest and most elaborate luxury vessels of the early Roman Empire are cameo glasses. These objects were inspired by relief-cut gems of banded semiprecious stones, such as onyx. Glassmakers cased

Listen as curator Dedo von Kerssenbrock-Krosigk describes this glass 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 Friars Glasshouse. Carré