All About Glass
All About Glass
This is your resource for exploring various topics in glass: delve deeper with this collection of articles, multimedia, and virtual books all about glass. Content is frequently added to the area, so check back for new items. If you have a topic you'd like to see covered, send us your suggestion. If you have a specific question, Ask a Glass Question at our Rakow Research Library.
Listen as glass artist William Gudenrath describes the technique used to make this Ravenscroft goblet. In March 1674, the English glassmaker George Ravenscroft applied for a patent to make colorless lead glass. Unfortunately, this glass was prone to crizzling, a chemical instability that results in
Listen as curator Dedo von Kerssenbrock-Krosigk describes this George Ravenscroft piece. In March 1674, the English glassmaker George Ravenscroft applied for a patent to make colorless lead glass. Unfortunately, this glass was prone to crizzling, a chemical instability that results in an attack by
Curators occasionally make surprising discoveries. Before the Museum acquired this object, it was identified as an 18th-century Indian spittoon. The surface is crizzled (that is, it has begun to deteriorate). The curator had never seen an example of crizzled Indian glass, so he looked at it closely