How were plants used to make glass?
By Chelsie Vandaveer
June 18, 2002
Sponsored By: Novica.com—>Click here.
killerPlants Tendrils: ~~1~~2~~3~~4~~5~~6~~7~~8~~9~~10~~
Suggested Reading – Plus Murano vases Rainbow Tulip & Verdant Volcano—>Click here.
Glass is a combination of silica, soda, and lime. Soda (sodium carbonate) serves to reduce the melting point of the silica, forming 'water-glass' or sodium silicate. (Sodium silicate is water soluble.) Lime (calcium carbonate) fixes the glass so it will not dissolve in water. Early glass was usually colored or opaque due to impurities in the ingredients.
Pliny the Elder credits the Phoenicians with the invention of glass. He places the discovery in 5000 BCE on a beach where the sailors had placed blocks of natron (soda) on the sand to support their cooking pots. The heat of the fire turned the sand and soda into glass.
Pliny's tale is as good a theory as any; we know little of ancient glassmaking. In 79 CE, Pliny noted that Rome's rich were replacing goblets of precious metals with glass cups.
Glassmaking almost disappeared with the fall of the Roman Empire. After the death of the prophet Muhammad in 632 CE, Arab armies conquered Egypt, Iran, and the eastern Mediterranean. In these areas, glassmaking had lingered and Islamic artisans took over the trade.
Venice revived the art of glassmaking in Europe. A few disastrous fires and the desire to keep glassmaking in Venice confined the artisans to the island of Murano. Around 1450, Angelo Barovier discovered cristallo, a thin, clear glass requiring a purity of ingredients. One ingredient was a plant ash known as allume di catino.
Although sources of sodium existed around salt lakes, glassmakers began using the ashes of plants. Clear glass was made with halophytes (saltworts) giving them the name, glassworts.
Gerard's Herbal (1633) gives clues to the method, "Saltwoort is called of the Arabians Kali, and Alkali...the...ashes hereof are named...Soda: of most Sal Alkali: diverse call it Alumen catinum. Stones are beaten to powder, and mixed with ashes, which being melted together become the matter whereof glasses are made."
The French devised what is now the most common use of clear glass. During the 1600s, they learned to grind and polish glass creating plate glass for windows and mirrors.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Food, Province of British Columbia has excellent photographs of the Salsola kali, the kali of the Arabians. To view the photographs, click on the link:
http://www.agf.gov.bc.ca/cropprot/weedguid/russthis.htm
The History of Murano Glass has been posted by the city of Venice. To learn more about the manufacture, mystery, and politics of glass, click on the link:
http://www.doge.it/murano/muranoi.htm
killerPlants Tendrils: ~~1~~2~~3~~4~~5~~6~~7~~8~~9~~10~~
Suggested Reading:
Why were Mennonites blamed for a Russian invasion? Plants that Changed History - July 2, 2002
Why must the tumbleweed tumble? Weird Plants - June 27, 2002
How did glassworts change personal hygiene? Plants that Changed History - June 25, 2002
What is fry bread? Renfield's Garden - November 20, 2002
Why did wheat become a major crop in North America? Plants that Changed History - Sep. 11, 2001
Why did Mennonites plant sunflowers? Plants that Changed History - May 13, 2003
Killer Savings Links: Breck's Bulbs -$25 off—>Click here.
Gurney's Seed and Nursery -$20 off—>Click here.
Henry Fields Seed and Nursery -$20 off—>Click here.
Spring Hill Nursery -$20 off—>Click here.
Gardens Alive! -$20 off—>Click here.
Michigan Bulb -$20 off—>Click here.
Unique Professionally Designed Gardens
Springhill Nursery®
Spring Hill Nursery has unique gardens professionally designed by experts to take the guesswork out of gardening. Whether you are looking for a three season garden, foundation garden, or a garden to attract hummingbirds and butterflies, Spring Hill Nursery has created a step-by-step design just for you.
Click here - $20 off your first order at Spring Hill Nursery!
Murano handblown vase, 'Rainbow Tulip'
NOVICA®
Many Italians immigrated to Brazil in the early 20th century, including families from the island of Murano near Venice. Antonio Carlos, NOVICA's leading art glass designer in Brazil, was taught directly by Aldo Bonora, the first Italian master to arrive in Brazil from Murano Island.
Shaped like a blossoming bud, this vase is alive with the colors of dusk. Bright red and orange hues converge into the last sunray under a sapphire blue sky. Captured within a glass frame, the illusion is sublime and magnificent. Artisans craft this vase with ancestral blown glass techniques, enabling them to recreate the beauty of a sunset. [Sale price and more info...] [View more Murano artistry of Brazil...]
|
BACK TO TOP
