Material Culture Notes: Dating Colorless Glass Bottles (original) (raw)
Related papers
Isis – A Journal of the History of Science Society, 2022
At the turn of the twentieth century, so-called “glass diseases” seriously affected the use of scientific and technical glassware. It had become apparent by 1900 that glass, a supposedly neutral and inert material, not only interacted with its environment but also interfered with anything it contained—chemically, physically, and biologically. Starting from the assumption that modern laboratory research depends on containers that regulate the spatial, material, and epistemic enclosure of its experimental milieus and objects, this essay argues that the standardization of glass quality from the 1900s to the 1930s must be understood as a reconfiguration of a “marginal” but nonetheless constitutive element of modern laboratory environments. The aim here is thus to weave various threads together into an (un)natural history of a modern material, one that considers epistemology, technology, and ontology—or, more specifically, the changing requirements and functions of glassware in the modern laboratory, the invention of specifically adapted glass substances, and the parallel advancement of glass science and its theories of what glass actually is.
Analyses of colourless Roman glass.
Ferris, I. The beautiful rooms are empty. Excavations at Binchester Roman Fort, County Durham 1976-1981 and 1986-1991. Part 2. Durham County Council, 333-338., 2010
One hundred and twenty-eight colourless glass tablewares from settlement contexts throughout the British Isles, dating from the mid-3rd to 4th century AD, were analysed by ICP-AES spectrometry. Three distinct compositional groups were identified based upon the use of different decolourisers and primary raw materials, with possible sub-groups within these. These compositions have distinct, but overlapping chronological ranges, suggesting colourless glass production in at least three, possibly more, centres in the late Roman period. The compositional analysis highlights the high degree to which recycling of glass was taking place during this late period. The chronological distribution of some of these compositions is more restricted within the British assemblages than is observed in other published assemblages from Western Europe. This distinction may indicate different supply patterns of glass to the Western provinces.
This article presents the results of recent analytical work (LA-ICP-MS) performed on fragments from two cage cups: a figural beaker found near the ancient town of Serdica, modern Sofia, and a beaker with an inscription found near Yambol. In a set of 12 fragments, the authors identify two different chemical compositions of colorless glass, three compositions of blue glass, and one composition each for green-blue and purple glass. The new data allow these scholars to investigate the relationship between the colorless main body and the colored external layers of the cage cup blanks, and provides hitherto unsuspected insights into the making of blanks. Two of the blue compositions are unrelated to the colorless base glass, but the other three colored compositions were probably produced by the addition of coloring materials to the colorless glasses of the blanks. This technological approach seems to be beneficial for securing adequate annealing and compatibility when different glasses are combined in a single blank and intended for further elaborate cold working.
Making Colourless Glass in the Roman Period*
Archaeometry, 2005
This paper discusses the compositional analysis of Roman colourless glass from three sites in Britain. The findings suggest that two broad compositional groups can be identified on the basis of the choice of the initial raw materials selected for glass production, in particular the sand. The largest of these groups is inherently different from the naturally coloured, blue-green glasses of the same period, while the other group is compositionally similar. Further subgroups are apparent on the basis of the decolorizers used. These glass groups are explored in the light of the current theories concerning the organization of glass production in the Roman world.
Blue/green glass bottles from Roman Britain
Blue green bottles from Roman Britain. Square and other prismatic forms. Archaeopress Roman Archaeology 113, 2024
Square bottles came into use in the AD 60s and rapidly became the commonest glass vessel form in the empire. For the next two centuries their fragments dominate all glass assemblages. Hitherto this material has not been exploited to any great extent because there has been no close chronological framework. This book presents a classification scheme for the moulded base patterns which allows the chronological development to be seen. With this it is possible to explore how the sizes and capacities changed with time. The British data are set within the context of the bottles from the rest of the western empire, and it can be seen that the different provinces favour different base patterns in a systematic fashion. Previously it has been assumed that base patterns reflect long distance trade of the bottles and their contents. Now it can be seen that the main driving force for the distribution of bottles with similar distinctive base patterns is most probably the movements of military units, and that most bottles were made locally. An exploration of common capacities indicates that these were shared with glass bath flasks and it is proposed that ,just as bath flasks were oil containers for hygiene purposes, the square bottles became so common because they were the favoured vessel for household oil. The chronological trajectory of square bottles, bath flasks and the Spanish olive oil industry evidenced by Dressel 20 amphoras are identical, but previously unremarked upon
Ancient glass: from kaleidoscope to crystal ball (Rehren & Freestone 2015, JAS 56)
Journal of Archaeological Science 56, 2015
Research over the last few decades has greatly enhanced our understanding of the production and distribution of glass across time and space, resulting in an almost kaleidoscopically colourful and complex picture. We now recognise several major ‘families’ of glass composition, including plant-ash based glass in Late Bronze Age Egypt and Mesopotamia, and the Islamic World; mineral natron glass in the Greek, Roman and Byzantine Empires; mineral-based lead- and lead-barium glass in Han period China and medieval Europe; and wood-ash and ash-lime glass in medieval Europe. Other glass groups include a peculiar granite-based glass in medieval Nigeria, and probably mineral-based glass in Bronze Age southern Europe. However, despite two centuries of research, we know very little about the actual production locations and technologies for most of these glass groups, and how and where glass making was invented. The early literature reflects the comparatively limited number of individuals and research groups working on glass; only recently there is a significant broadening of the research community and expansion and refinement of the data base. This enables us now to take stock of our current understanding and identify major lacunae and areas where additional work may make the most significant contributions to our understanding of the complex picture. Hopefully this will help moving from the traditional descriptive and often fragmented opportunistic data-gathering phase (asking ‘what’, ‘where’ and ‘when’) to a more interpretative period looking with fresh eyes at the ‘why’ and ‘how’ of compositional and technical developments. This opening of the research field includes addressing the relationship of the different glass industries to the societies that used glass, and how they organised its production and distribution. A major overarching issue remains the question of the initial invention of glass, and how the idea as well as the material itself spread. Major debates should ask whether there were multiple inventions of glass making; how best to identify and interpret long-distance trade; how to ensure data compatibility and quality; and how to integrate different types of data, from archaeology through craftsmanship and typology to chemistry and optical properties.
Hot Tempered: Recreating a Lost Glass Recipe
Journal18, 2024
Since 2019, the Corning Museum of Glass has been investigating the making of its realgar-colored glass objects. A Chinese innovation, this opaque red and orange glass was developed in the early decades of the eighteenth century and used at the Qing imperial glassworks to create a range of vessels, but the secret to its making was subsequently lost. The presence of a broken bottle in the CMoG collection has enabled more extensive scientific analyses to understand the precise chemical composition of this glass. Our conservators found that its variegated effects were all created by a single colorant: copper. We have since partnered with materials scientists at Corning Incorporated who batched the ingredients and recreated this historical glass recipe in the lab. Most recently, the Museum’s Hot Glass team has created vessels in wood-burning and gas furnaces using glass made by Corning. Experimenting with different fuel types and mold materials, we have gained further insights into how eighteenth-century glassblowers might have worked with this unique material. This short paper reports on the knowledge gained from the recreation of realgar-colored glass in the lab and in the hot shop, arguing for the importance of these research methods to art historical inquiry. See online version for full videos: https://www.journal18.org/issue18/hot-tempered-recreating-a-lost-glass-recipe/