With the dawn of vessel glass-making in the second millenium BC, the world gained a material that was to feature in every culture and in numerous forms. Here, the versatility of glass is explored through a chronological narrative highlighted by themed features such as mosque lamps, tableware, glass for the Medici, bottles, chandeliers and lightfittings, an glass in Mughal India. The V&A` s glass collection is one of the world` s most important in terms of comprehensive coverage, documentary pieces, and famous masterpieces. While drawing extensively on the Museum` s collection, the book also uses other material such as engravings, paintings, designs and photographs to reveal a fascinating history of the social and cultural uses of glass.
Opening with an exploration of Ancient Egyptian and Roman wares, glass from the Islamic world, and the V&A` s major collection of renaissance glass, mostly from Venice, the story continues with Baroque and Rococo glass, the most important collection of British lead-crystal glass of the 18th and 19th centuries, and the Art Nouveau and Art Deco glass of Galle and Lalique. Concluding with a fascinating section on the work of 20th-century artists and factories, particularly from the UK, across Europe and the USA, this volume covers all types of glass, including drinking vessels, technical tours de force, spectacular exhibition pieces, decorative vases and works from the fine art world.
The superb photography and succinct historical text vividly illustrate glass` s major artists, factories, techniques, social uses and styles, and brings the reader right into the last years of the twentieth century. The book` s authoritative style, together the quality of the images, will also make it a standard reference work for students and all those interested in this versatile material.