Glass Artefacts & Manufacturing Techniques

Traditional glassblowing is intrinsically connected to the craftsmen that shape the object as the strength of their arms and the size of their lungs will influence the size of a finished product, and its recipes and formulas are often kept secret and passed down generation by generation.

Mercury silvered glass was produced originally around 1840 until at least 1930 in Bohemia, now the Czech Republic.
Referred to as ‘poor man’s silver’, silvered glass techniques and recipes are kept secret.
What we know is that the glass was blown double walled, then silvered between the layers with a liquid silvering solution composed of silver nitrate and grape sugar, heated again, then sealed.
Sealing methods include metal discs covered with a glass round or a cork inserted into the unpolished pontil scar.

Borosilicate glass is a type of glass that contains boron trioxide which allows for a very low coefficient of thermal expansion, and therefore withstands sudden changes of temperature.
This means it will not crack under extreme temperature changes like regular glass.
Because of its durability and resistance to chemical changes, borosilicate glass has traditionally been used in chemistry labs and industrial settings, as well as for kitchenware and premium wine glasses.

This is the cold-crafting technique that most challenges the skill and delicacy of the master glassmaker.
The distinctive characteristic of Hammered glass is that its surface is sculpted by hand with a grinding wheel. This creates countless small and apparently irregular marks on the glass surface.

Glass engraving encompasses a variety of techniques in which drawings and inscriptions are cut into the surface of the glass through abrasion. Glass engraving tools are very small abrasive wheels and drills, also tiny lathes often used. Sandblasting is another technique used in glass engraving. An abrasive agent is sprayed through a gun on to glass. Only the areas of glass which are not masked up by a piece of stencil will be marked.