Art Glass
Art Glass may at first glance seem to be – as a movement –
an anathema to the antiquarian enthusiast who more normally champions the most
alluring property of glassware as being its inherent usability, as distinct
from being made purely for ornamental or aesthetic purposes. How often have we
ourselves said that a glass should be used, regardless of age, for it to be
properly enjoyed! It cannot, however, be dismissed as a frippery by anyone who
understands the processes involved in the manufacturing or decorative processes
involved in its production, as it in some instances, examples of Art Glass
exhibit either a radical, innovative departure from the norm, or the ultimate
use of traditional techniques purely to provide an end product intended to look
spectacular.
Glassware has obviously always been decorated in many different ways, but the
expressive and expansive use and combination of colour and form really came to
the fore in Victorian times alongside the development of a greater diversity of
manufacturing techniques. The application of cutting and engraving – almost to
excess at times – and the growing use of colouration and variation in opacity
throughout the 19th century gave the impetus to the production of items which
were designed solely to be looked at and admired rather than simply having a
purely utilitarian purpose, and so the stage was set for glassmakers far and
wide to take a step back from the day to day manufacture of commonplace items
and to utilise their skills both new and old to make items which best exhibited
their talents – objects d’art in their own right.
As with every other aspect of society during the 1800’s, improved communication
and transport links meant that new ideas and techniques spread like wildfire,
and by the turn of the century there were individual centres of glassmaking
excellence throughout Europe. These were both inspired by new influences from
far and wide, and by existing skills and crafts which had underpinned glass
production in a specific region over the preceding centuries. Although the continued
employment of these local techniques ensured that each manufacturing centre was
able to retain its own distinctive style there was an explosion of new
processing techniques, metal additives for colouration and true artistic
creativity. Glass had become a true artistic medium.