How Glass Changed the World by Seth C. Rasmussen

Author:Seth C. Rasmussen
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Springer Berlin Heidelberg, Berlin, Heidelberg

It seems likely that the tradition of glassmaking never died out in Italy after the fall of Rome, and by the time of the Crusades, glass manufacture had been revived in Venice [22, 26, 27]. The glass industry of Venice was originally developed in order to produce sheets of richly colored glass for mosaic tesserae. Additional products included simple poured discs made in a wide range of colors, both opaque and transparent, to be traded throughout the world as raw materials to be crushed into powder for enamellers. This simple glass industry was well established by the ninth century and was soon operating on an amazingly large scale [1, 21]. By 1200, the Venetian glass industry was prospering [4].

This initial industry provided a strong foundation on which additional knowledge and technology could be built, particularly techniques and expertise gained from the East. It is believed that the Venetians gained such additional knowledge from Byzantine glassmakers after the sack of Constantinople in 1204 during the fourth Crusade [23]. This influx of Eastern knowledge was then significantly enhanced by a critical treaty signed in 1277 [1, 28] between Jacopo Contartini, the Doge of Venice, and Bohemond VII, Prince of Antioch, to facilitate the transfer of technology between the two centers [1, 26]. This transfer included that of Syrian glassmaking, thus allowing many secrets of glassmaking to be brought to Venice at a crucial point in its development as a world power. Trade documents describe the importation of raw glass (cullet) and plant ashes from the Near East to Venice as early as the thirteenth century [29]. Venice’s commercial expansion and extensive shipping network in the eastern Mediterranean secured a continuous supply of plant ash for the Venetian glass industry [24]. The imported Syrian ashes were a cheap commodity. Better yet, because the ashes were so bulky and heavy, and because Venice needed such large quantities, they were used as ballast2 to balance the cargos of cotton in the Venetian cogs returning from Syria, and thus were also transported to Venice at low cost [24]. The Venetian cog line to Syria was established in 1366 and operated under strict state control, providing a regular, dependable, and abundant supply of Levantine soda ashes. Annual imports of ash to Venice exceeded 350 t by 1395, with this growing to 1750 t by the end of the fifteenth century [24]. In addition to critical raw materials, Syria also provided physical expertise in the form of Muslim artisans who could directly teach the Syrian techniques to the Venetians [1, 23, 28].

These factors provided key components that led to the flowering of glass in fourteenth to sixteenth century Venice. The combined factors that provided the perfect environment for the dominance of the Venetian glass industry included: (i) the initial existing glassmaking industry; (ii) the influx of knowledge, skill, and materials from Syria; (iii) the growing importance of Venice in terms of trade, commerce and culture; (iv) the wider cultural context of the Italian Renaissance in painting, architecture and the applied arts; and (v) the quality of raw materials available to the Venetian glassmakers.

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