Beaker with soldier and civilian shaking hands, Bohemian glass, later 19th century.
Engraved glass is a type of decorated glass that involves shallowly engraving the surface of a glass object, either by holding it against a rotating wheel, or manipulating a "diamond point" in the style of an engraving burin. It is a subgroup of glass art, which refers to all artistic glass, much of it made by "hot" techniques such as moulding and blowing melting glass, and with other "cold" techniques such as glass etching which uses acidic, caustic, or abrasive substances to achieve artistic effects, and cut glass, which is cut with an abrasive wheel, but more deeply than in engraved glass, where the engraving normally only cuts deeply enough into the surface to leave a mark. Usually the engraved surface is left "frosted" so a difference is visible, while in cut glass the cut surface is polished to restore transparency. Some pieces may combine two or more techniques.
Charles Frederick Ulrich, The Glass Engraver, 1883. The board at right holds different grinding-wheels.
There are several different techniques of glass engraving. It has been practised since ancient times, including Roman glass, and professionally engraved glass has always been an expensive luxury, requiring lavish amounts of labour by a highly skilled craftsman or artist. In recent centuries the most notable periods and places of production started in the 16th century, initially mostly in Venetian glass, then later in Germany and Bohemian glass. From about 1645 it was used in the Netherlands, which was producing the finest engraving by 1700, by which time some engraving was used in most glass-making centres in Europe. The late 17th and early 18th centuries were in some ways the peak period of achievement and popularity. From 1730 onwards it received some competition from the new geometric cut glass style developed in England. These related techniques were often combined in a single piece, but the engraving tended to be relegated to less prominent positions.
In the 19th century cut glass continued to dominate, and new techniques of etched glass, cheaper than engraving, also took some of the role formerly occupied by engraving. By the later part of the century, a whole variety of techniques, many including coloured glass, had developed. Engraved glass retained some niches, and was sometimes used in art glass and later studio glass, but no longer had its former importance, although there has been a revival in Britain, with many public commissions for large window-size pieces.
Much glass remains in private collections, and many museums do not display much of their holdings, and often do not display them to the best advantage, which is usually against a dark background. Wineglasses were meant to be appreciated by holding in the hand, and when full any distracting engraving on the other side of the glass was not visible, or much less so.[1]
Engravedglass is a type of decorated glass that involves shallowly engraving the surface of a glass object, either by holding it against a rotating wheel...
be a decorated object in itself, as when silver, gold, steel, or glass are engraved, or may provide an intaglio printing plate, of copper or another metal...
as "glassing" or "glassing up") and flake off the surface. Cutting through the paint of a metal part is generally how material is laser engraved. If the...
Bronze Age Indus Valley civilization made glass beads that were engraved with simple shapes. Ancient Roman glass used a variety of techniques, but mostly...
Cristallo became very popular. This type of glass was fragile and difficult to cut, but it could be enameled and engraved. Manganese dioxide, a de-coloring agent...
and pressed glass objects in a variety of colors, which had engraved, cut, etched, and gilded decorations. The firm was one of the first glass companies...
mould into a shape, glassblowing, sandblasted glass, copper-foil glasswork, painted and engravedglass. In general the term is restricted to relatively...
during the Roman period, including enamelled glass and engravedglass. Shards of broken glass or glass rods were being used in mosaics from the Augustan...
and articles on engraved gems The Johnston collection of engraved gems at the Metropolitan Museum of Art Damen, Giada. "Antique Engraved Gems and Renaissance...
of glass-making dates back to at least 3,600 years ago in Mesopotamia. However, most writers claim that they may have been producing copies of glass objects...
lines or dots, often combined with conventional linear engraving. In engravedglass a similar stipple technique has often been popular. In a drawing or...
December 2000) was a British glassengraver and poet. He was both the first President of the British Guild of GlassEngravers and the first recipient of...
glassengraver. In the first decade of the 17th century, Lehmann adapted the techniques of using copper and bronze wheels to engrave gems to engrave glass...
features memorial panels, a shrine in the form of a shelter, and an engravedglass pane by John Hutton. Those commemorated include soldiers lost on ships...
great advantage is that the double-layered glass can be engraved or abraded to reveal the clear or tinted glass below. The method allows rich detailing and...
colors. The outer layer is then engraved with a diamond point or etched with acid to create a two-color design. Cased glass is made of two layers, often...
about 1852–1880. The New England Glass Company displayed a variety of silvered glass articles including copper wheel engraved goblets, vases and other tableware...
Hand-cut, engraved, blown and painted decorative glassware ranging from champagne flutes to enormous chandeliers, ornaments, figurines and other glass items...
Glass etching, or "French embossing", is a popular technique developed during the mid-1800s that is still widely used in both residential and commercial...
Faceted glass or granyonyi stakan Highball glass, for mixed drinks Iced tea glass Juice glass, for fruit juices and vegetable juices. Old fashioned glass, traditionally...
of St Nicholas and St Magnus in Moreton is noted for its elaborate engravedglass windows designed by Laurence Whistler. Severely damaged by a stray German...
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