All About Glass
All About Glass
This is your resource for exploring various topics in glass: delve deeper with this collection of articles, multimedia, and virtual books all about glass. Content is frequently added to the area, so check back for new items. If you have a topic you'd like to see covered, send us your suggestion. If you have a specific question, Ask a Glass Question at our Rakow Research Library.
In this live stream from the Conservation Lab, watch as Steve Koob, chief conservator; Astrid van Giffen, associate conservator; and Lianne Uesato, assistant conservator share the issues and concerns that conservators keep an eye out for when managing a collection of glass objects that spans from
The Museum's glass conservators care for a collection of nearly 50,000 objects spanning 35 centuries. In addition to addressing issues such as crizzling (glass deterioration), they restore damaged pieces. One example is the Tiffany lamp shown here. It came to the Museum in many pieces of
Glass is found at archaeological excavations in a variety of conditions. The glass condition can range from pristine, where no deterioration is visible, to so heavily degraded that practically all the glass has been transformed into corrosion products. The deterioration of the glass surface is
For more on glass conservation visit our conservation page.
The Stages of Crizzling Stage 1: Initial Stage Presence of alkali on the glass gives the surface a cloudy or hazy appearance. Tiny droplets or fine crystals can form if there is high (above 55%) or low (below 40%) relative humidity. Glass may feel slippery or slimy. Washing will remove alkali from