SPECIAL INTEREST DAY October 26th 2011
5,000 years of Glass
Andy McConnell
Andy features regularly as the specialist in glass on the BBC's Antiques Road Show. He got his first taste for antiques when, as a youngster, he earned pocket money buying items in Portobello Road to sell on to his father, a tobacco blender, who filled his empty tobacco cases on the outward journey to the Americas with antiques for sale.
After school at Framlingham College in Suffolk, Andy tried his hand at journalism in Suffolk, then in America as a rock journalist (pop music not stones) and on to Europe where his interest in glass was sparked by a fortunate introduction to a German glass seller in Hamburg. Andy became his supplier. He first appeared on the Road Show in 2004 as their first and only glass specialist (his jokey derogatory term for the more popular ceramics specialism is “crockery”). Since 2005 his base is in Rye where he has a shop and exhibition area called “Glass Etc”. According to the website, visitors are positively encouraged to handle the goods! His collection amounts to some 30,000 pieces. He has also researched and written two major fully illustrated books, “The Decanter – An Illustrated History of Glass from 1650” and “Miller's 20th Century Glass”.
Andy is a very energetic and entertaining speaker and gave a “performance” deserving of an Equity card; his enthusiasm rubbed off on his audience. He loves the way glass is history and art rolled into one. He encouraged us to look at an item eg Tutankhamun's mask with its stripes of blue enamelling (ie coloured glass) on gold – and marvel that it dates back to 1352 BC! ( …. and how did that work when gold has a lower melting point than glass?)
Somehow between 10am and 5pm we had 5,000 years of glass and still managed to have lunch! A massive amount to cover. There is evidence from Pliny's writings of glass making as far back as 4,000BC. Arabs were glass blowing in 50 BC, a method pretty much unchanged since then. Damascus was the original centre for glass but wars caused the glass makers to move for security and work first across the Mediterranean to Venice, then to the Netherlands and on to Britain, following whoever ruled the waves at the time.
Early English glass is very rare. The earliest surviving piece is a glass bottle or decanter wrapped in basket weaving, found on the Tudor warship The Mary Rose. Glass sellers in England would travel the roads on foot with their wares protected about their person as other forms of transport were too precarious. English glass can be identified by its distinctive “ping” if tapped.
Andy brought with him a large number of sample pieces for us to handle as well as his “taser” (ie his long stemmed glass blower) and various glass blowing wooden moulds. Decoration by engraving would originally have been done by two people, as one turned the wheel the other engraved. The industrial revolution enabled engines to “feed” the cutters and allow bulk “cut crystal” (sadly of little commercial value now and your children will probably not want to inherit it either!)
The late 19th and then the 20th century brought the “age of the designer”. In England, Christopher Dresser, in France, Galle and Rene Lalique. As there was no tradition of glass blowing in France, the usual method was “lost wax” (cire perdu). This meant each item was unique as the mould was always broken in the making. Lalique, who had fantastic designs, signed each item “R Lalique” on the side (not hidden on the bottom ) which was unusual for glass makers at the time as well as a good marketing ploy. (After Lalique's death the pieces were simply signed “Lalique”.)
Currently the glass specialists of international consequence are all in Scandinavia – some 30 or so, now in their 70s and 80s and producing works of art rather than functional pieces.
Finally Andy had enough energy to consider members' own glass items brought along for him to see. He gave every piece a short commentary, which was much appreciated. We all left exhausted but with a greater awareness and admiration for this medium and those who work with it. As one of his book reviewers commented, glass collecting should carry a health warning stating “VERY ADDICTIVE”.
Many thanks indeed to the organisers. A really worthwhile day.
Susan Jack
