Craft

Glassblowing

Glass

Inflating molten glass on the end of a blowpipe and shaping it with breath, gravity and simple tools. The technique made glass vessels cheap enough for ordinary households for the first time in the Roman world, and its studio revival in the 1960s turned a factory trade back into an individual craft. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

Facts
Craft Class
Ceramic and Glass 1
Earliest Evidence (Circa)
Invented in the 1st century BC on the Syro-Palestinian coast and spread rapidly through the Roman world 1
Origin
Glassblowing was a genuine technical leap, not a refinement of older glassworking: it put to use inflation, expanding a molten blob of glass with a small amount of air, a working property of glass that earlier glassworkers had never exploited. 1
Glassblowing
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FAQs

Where and when was glassblowing invented?

Phoenician and Syrian craftsmen invented glassblowing in the first century BC; the Roman Empire then spread the technique across the Mediterranean and Europe.

Glassblowing was developed in the first century BC by Phoenician and Syrian craftsmen, who worked out how to inflate a bubble of molten glass on a blowpipe, a property of glass no earlier glassworker had exploited. The technique spread quickly through the Roman Empire, with major early workshops established in present-day Lebanon, Israel and Cyprus, and later in Italy, the Rhineland, France and Belgium.
Connections

Tools Used

Source Talk Like a Gaffer: Glassblowing Glossary (2b Glass)
Source Dictionary.com: blowpipe definition
Source Talk Like a Gaffer: Glassblowing Glossary (2b Glass)

Glass Cutter is used in Glassblowing.

Glazing Jack is used in Glassblowing.

The glory hole is a reheating furnace a glassblower returns a piece to between working steps to keep the glass workable.

Source Glassblowing (Wikipedia)

Jacks are the tweezer-like tool a glassblower uses to shape molten glass during forming.

Source Glassblowing (Wikipedia)

Lehr (Glassmaking) is used in Glassblowing.

Source Marver (Wikipedia)
Source Dictionary.com: punty definition
Additional Source Punty (Wikipedia)
Sources
1. Glassblowing (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia Foundation
  • en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glassblowing, Principles section
    glassblowing exploited a working property of glass that was previously unknown to glassworkers: inflation, which is the expansion of a molten blob of glass by introducing a small amount of air into it.
  • en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glassblowing, Earliest evidence section
    In the first century BC, Phoenician and Syrian craftsmen developed the technique of blowing air into molten glass with a blowpipe, making it into a bubble and thence moulding it into a great variety of forms.
  • Tools Used: Jacks (Glassblowing Tool), Glassblowing, Tools section
    Jacks are tools shaped somewhat like large tweezers with two blades, which are used for forming shape later in the creation of a piece.
  • Tools Used: Glory Hole, Glassblowing, Modern glassblowing section
    The second is called the 'glory hole', and is used to reheat a piece in between steps of working with it.
View the Source
Punty (Wikipedia)
WikipediaTools Used: PuntyView the Source
Marver (Wikipedia)
WikipediaTools Used: Marver, Lead
Quote, Tools Used: Marver, Lead
is a tool used in glassblowing
View the Source
Talk Like a Gaffer: Glassblowing Glossary (2b Glass)
  • Tools Used: Diamond Shears (Glassblowing), Glossary entry
    Diamond shears are specialized tools used in glass blowing to cut or shape molten glass.
  • Tools Used: Block (Glassblowing), Glossary entry
    Blocks are wooden tools that come in a variety of sizes. They are used to smooth and shape glass before it is inflated or
View the Source
Dictionary.com: blowpipe definition
Dictionary.comTools Used: Blowpipe, Definition
Quote, Tools Used: Blowpipe, Definition
a long metal pipe used to gather and blow the molten glass in making hollowware
View the Source
Dictionary.com: punty definition
Dictionary.comTools Used: Punty, Definition
Quote, Tools Used: Punty, Definition
a long iron rod used in the finishing process of glass-blowing
View the Source

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