A History of Early Glass: The Beginning of Glass Blowing

These works are part of an eminent private collection of ancient glass entrusted to the Tokyo National Museum since 2004. The collection consists of more than 350 items from the Eastern Mediterranean region through to Central Asia. The Tokyo National Museum exhibited a variety of ancient glass vessels in 2007, and in 2008 exhibited several masterpieces of cut glass, primarily from Sasanid Persia. In this third exhibition from the collection, our main subject is the beginning of glass blowing.

Glass blowing is a technique for efficiently producing vessels by blowing melted glass into the air or into a cast. It originated in the Eastern Mediterranean in the 1st century B.C. and proceeded to spread widely throughout the Mediterranean region and the Middle East, where vessels with characteristics similar to those we see in modern-day glass were produced. Many were inexpensive, mass-produced items; however, rare luxury glassware was also produced for the affluent classes.

Here, a total of 65 items are on exhibit, including works made using ancient sand-core, casting or sagging techniques as well as blown glass wares. The glass we use today is mostly blown glass, and it is surprising that this technique, invented over 2000 years ago, is still being applied today in modern industry.