Roman Glass Jewelry

What is Roman glass? Its history, features, characteristic features. How to make roman glass jewelry?

Roman glass jewelry belongs to the variety of products that embody both beauty and history. Unlike clay and stone, glass is not among the materials that are usually associated with ancient cultures, but in reality this glass was widespread and produced in large quantities in the Roman Empire.

Definition

Roman glass is an ancient variety of glass found in archaeological sites in Israel and other countries in the Mediterranean region. Initially, vases, pots, and other vessels were made of glass. Thanks to the presence of sand dunes and beaches, ancient Israel has become one of the largest glass producers in the Roman Empire. And the same sand helped to preserve, shape and heat-treat the glass used for the manufacture of glass products.

Story

The population of the Roman Empire used glass more often than any other ancient civilization. Glass-blowing technology, which allows the mass production of glass products, arose, as it turned out, in the Syrian-Palestinian region as early as 1 century BC. e., and to 1 century. n e. glass vessels are widespread throughout the empire. Glass dishes were used to serve food, drinks and wash hands between meals. Food and spices were stored in glass bottles and jars, mourners poured wine from glass bottles and sprayed funeral pyres with perfumes, and sometimes the ashes of the deceased were collected in glass urns. Excavations in those places showed that glassmakers of the late period of the Roman Empire could make enough glass for tens of thousands of small and medium vessels in one go.

Sources of Roman Glass Jewelry

It was the mass production of glass in the Roman Empire that made it possible to develop the manufacture of Roman glass jewelry. The results of excavations in Israel, dating from the period of history when Rome and then Constantinople ruled in Palestine, often contain small fragments that are not of particular value to archaeologists, but are used by jewelers who send them gold, silver and other metals.

Character traits

The aging process to which glass has been endowed gives Roman glass jewelry an unbeatable beauty. The impurities that got into the glass during manufacture, in combination with the environment in which it has been for hundreds of years, give the glass an iridescent shine and variegation instead of the original transparency. The color of the glass depends on the finish and rim chosen by the jeweler, although the most common colors are green, blue, purple and red.