Five Thousand Years of Glass

by The British Museum, Hugh Tait (Editor)

The fragile beauty of glass has ensured its popularity through the ages in forms ranging from simple beakers to ornate decorative masterpieces. This book traces the history of glass from its origins in western Asia some 5,000 years ago, though the invention of glass blowing around the first century B.C., to the introduction of mechanized processes and new styles in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. It highlights the flourishing industries of ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt, the elegant vessels of the Islamic Near East, the superb mastery of Renaissance Venice, and the wide-ranging experiments of modern Europe and America.

A unique feature of the book is the series of photographic sequences especially taken in the studio of a modern glassmaker as he reconstructs ancient techniques; these are accompanied by a glossary of glassmaking terms.

Genres: History, Research

256 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 1991

About the author

The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London.

Reviews

[Balloon Bruce · Rating 3 out of 5]

Somehow it never came alive. All of the technical information is there, but no passion. Part of the problem is that each chapter is by a different author. The whole book lacks cohesiveness.

[Kim]

Consulted for research purposes: clear timeline of glass technique and development; introduction and appendix of glassmaking techniques especially helpful.

[Clement Ying · Rating 4 out of 5]

Leisure reading.

[覚 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reading the Hardcover one written by Frances Rogers and Alice Beard published by Lippincott in 1948.

玻璃很重要 玻璃是好文明！