Czech Glass

Bohemia , now part of the Czech Republic, has been famous since the 13th century for its beautiful and colourful glass. According to Wikipedia, the history of Bohemian glass started with the abundant natural resources found in the countryside. Bohemian glass-workers discovered that comboining potash with chalk created a clear colourless glass that was more stable than glass from Italy. Bohemian crystal emerged as distinguished in its qualities from the glass coming from other places--a gorgeous glass without lead.

Bohemia turned out expert craftsmen who artfully worked with crystal. They became skilled teachers of glass-making in neighbouring and distant countries. By the middle of the 19th century, a technical glass-making school system was created that encouraged traditional and innovative techniques as well as technical preparation. Glass artisanship remained at a high level even under the Communists because it was considered ideologically innocuous--and remains today. Such beauty!