Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-pftt2 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-05-21T15:07:50.583Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Early Venetian Enamelling on Glass: Technology and Origins

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 February 2011

Ian C. Freestone
Affiliation:
Department of Scientific Research, British Museum, London WC1B 3DG, U.K.
Mavis Bimson
Affiliation:
Department of Scientific Research, British Museum, London WC1B 3DG, U.K.
Get access

Abstract

Late thirteenth to early fourteenth century glasses of the so-called “Aldrevandin” group, are believed to be among the earliest enamelled products of the Venetian glass industry. Enamel colours and glasses from Aldrevandin-type vessels excavated in England have been analysed using energy dispersive X-ray analysis in the scanning electron microscope. The enamels are closely similar to those on Islamic glass of about the same period. The early Venetian techniques are inferred to have derived from the Near East, perhaps via a trade in enamel colours.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 1995

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

1. Wilson, Ralph Pinder, in Five Thousand Years of Glass, edited by Tait, Hugh (British Museum Publications, London, 1991) pp. 114143.Google Scholar
2. Tait, Hugh, ibid, 145187.Google Scholar
3. Tait, Hugh, The Golden Age of Venetian Glass, (British Museum publications, London, 1979).Google Scholar
4. Charleston, R.J., “The Import of Venetian Glass into the Near-East 15th-16th century”. Annales du 3e Congrès des Journeès Internationales du Verre, 158168 (1964).Google Scholar
5. Jacoby, David, “Raw Materials for the glass industries of Venice and the terraferma about 1370 – about 1460”. Journal of Glass Studies 35, 6590 (1993).Google Scholar
6. Baumgartner, Erwin and Krueger, Ingeborg, Phönix aus Sand und Asche - Glas des Mittelalters. (Klinkhardt & Biermann, München, 1988) 126160.Google Scholar
7. Lamm, C.J., Oriental Glass of Medieval Date Found in Sweden and the Early History of Lustre Painting, (Wahlström & Widstrand, Stockholm, 1941). It should be noted, however, that at this time very few examples of Aldrevandin group glasses were known.Google Scholar
8. A view clearly doubted by Harden, D.B.Medieval Glass in the West”, Eighth International Congress on Glass (Society of Glass Technology, Sheffield, 1968), 97111.Google Scholar
9. Clark, John, “Medieval enamelled glass from London”, Medieval Archaeology 27, 152156 (1983).Google Scholar
10. Zecchin, Liugi, “Furnaci Muranesi fra il 1279 ed il 1290”. Journal of Glass Studies 12, 7883 (1970).Google Scholar
11. Zecchin, Liugi, “Decorazione di vetro a Murano dal 1280 al 1480”. Rivista della Stazione Sperimentale del Vetro 7, 3134 (1977).Google Scholar
12. Brill, Robert H., “The Gnalié wreck: analyses of some glasses”. Journal of Glass Studies 15, 9397 (1973).Google Scholar
13. Verità, Marco, “L'invenzione del cristallo muranese: una verifica analitica delle fonti storiche”. Rivista della Stazione Sperimentale del Vetro 1.5, 1529 (1985).Google Scholar
14. Jacoby, David, op. cit. (ref. 5).Google Scholar
15. Neri, Antonio, L'arte Vetraria, (Florence, 1611), translated with commentary by “C.M.” (Christopher Merrett, London 1662).Google Scholar
16. Turner, W.E.S. and Rooksby, H.P., “A study of the opalising agents in ancient opal glasses throughout three thousand four hundred years”. Glastechn. Berichte 32K, 1728 (1959).Google Scholar
17. Brill, R.H., “The Scientific investigation of ancient glasses”. Eighth International Congress of Glass. (Society of Glass Technology, Sheffield, 1968), 4768, especially Table 7.Google Scholar
18. Freestone, I.C., Bimson, M. and Buckton, D., “Compositional categories of Byzantine glass tesserae”. Annales du Ile Congrns de l'Association Internationale pour l'Histoire du Verre, 271–280 (1988).Google Scholar
19. Moretti, C. and Hreglich, S., “Opacification and colouring of glass by the use of anime”, Glass Technology 25, 277282 (1984).Google Scholar
20. Rooksby, H.P., “A yellow cubic lead tin oxide opacifier in ancient glass”. Phys. Chem. Glasses 5, 2025 (1964).Google Scholar
21. Hodkin, F.W. and Cousen, A., A Textbook of Glass Technology, (Constable, London, 1925).Google Scholar
22. Turner, W.E.S., “Glass” in A Dictionary of Applied Chemistry edited by Thorpe, E. (Longman, Green and Co. London, 1922) vol. 3, pp. 377401.Google Scholar
23. Gudenrath, William, “Techniques of Glassmaking and Decoration” in Five Thousand Years of Glass edited by Tait, Hugh (British Museum Publications, London, 1991) 214241.Google Scholar
24. Quoted by Tait, Hugh, ibid., 160.Google Scholar
25. Henderson, Julian and Allen, James, “Enamels on Ayyubid and Mamluk glass fragmentsArchaeomaterials 4 167183 (1990).Google Scholar
26. Charleston, R.J., “Glass cakes as raw material and articles of commerce”. Journal of Glass Studies 5–6 (1963-1964), 5467.Google Scholar
27. Redknap, Mark and Freestone, Ian C., “18th century glass ingots from England: further light on the post-medieval glass trade”. Post-Medieval Archaeology, in press (1995).Google Scholar
28. Refs. 10,11; Hugh Tait, 5000 Years of Glass (British Museum publications, 1991), 151.Google Scholar