The Art of Making Roman Glass
THE ART OF MAKING ANCIENT ROMAN GLASS.
Ancient Roman glass was made using sand, coloring agents (metals), and formed by burning seaweed and lime. Roman glass was produced in an extensive range of hues, colors, shapes, and patterns. It is considered a work of art by skilled craftsmen, who used techniques developed for centuries in North Africa, the Near, and the Middle East.
WHAT MADE A VARIETY OF THE COLORS IN ANCIENT ROMAN GLASS.
Metals were used to make many colorful variations. Also, clear transparent glass was in high demand. Copper was used for making turquoise or light blue, green, red, or opaque red colored glass. Some addition of cobalt made the glass dark blue. A yellowish and purple glass was created by adding manganese. A lustrous gray metal called antimony ( used as mascara and known as khol )produced the glass of opaque yellow or opaque white. Also, iron was used to make a light blue, green, brown, and black color. To tell the whole truth – at present, we don’t know precisely about all of its components.
DETOUR INTO PRESENT, BRINGING BACK THE LOST ART OF ANCIENT ROMAN GLASS
The Art of making Ancient Roman glass was partially lost. The rumor has it that some long-forgotten plants and herbs were essential. Truly fascinating researchers and practical experiments are performed lately, most notably by Corning Museum of Glass – NY USA, Getty Museum – CA USA, University of Colorado – CO USA, and Mark Taylor with David Hill – UK.
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