In Jerusalem, sometime about 40 B.C., it was discovered that molten glass could be inflated. To make this phenomenon useful and practical, manufacturing processes had to be invented. This occurred during a rapid expansion of the Roman Empire that eventually included the entire Mediterranean Basin and extended to the far eastern coast: present-day Israel. Through an extensive trade of goods and the widespread movement of people and know-how, glassblowing found its way to the Italian peninsula. It took root and developed quickly. Glassblowing spread to become—then, as now—the predominant method of making glass vessels.
The Techniques of Roman-Period Glassblowing
Contributors:
William Gudenrath