Sunday, April 15, 2012
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!
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