Technological breakthroughs in the glass

workshops in mid-second millennium BCE led

to the creation of the first glass vessels and

allowed the industry to become established in

its own right. The sixteenth-century core-

forming technique was to remain the foremost

method for the manufacture of vessels for the

next 1500 years. Vessels were also

manufactured in open and closed molds.

Among the vessels produced in ancient Egypt

was the tallest vessel measuring about 40 cm.

in height. The brightly colored vessels served as

either personal property, for use in this life or

in the next, or as a donation to the deity of a

temple on behalf of the individual named on

the object.

Various techniques were exploited in both the

Ancient Near East and in Egypt in order to

decorate glass objects, among which were the

famous, multi-colored glass vessels. In general,

however, the winding of threads, once

introduced, remained the most popular

technique employed for the period spanning

the second half of the second millennium to the

end of the first millennium BCE.

Only in the first millennium BCE were

numerous vessels of diverse shapes created for

daily use. Designed to contain perfumes,

scented oils and cosmetics, they form a

homogeneous group sharing the same

technique and taking their shape from the

repertory of Greek vases in pottery and metal. 

These glass vessels were also donated to

sanctuaries in temples in the homeland and

abroad, where they may have served in

religious rites.

In the Roman empire, glass-working underwent

what can only be described as an industrial

revolution and glass vessels lost their luxury

status becoming the common medium for

tablewares. The key to the growth of glass-

working was the displacement and enslavement

of skilled eastern craftsmen. Cheap and

organized labor assured the industrialization of

glass-working through standardization of the

products, both in size and shape, including the

vessels