The glass is a more or less small container made of different materials that is used for drinking. There are various types of glasses based on their use, different in shape and materials used: from glass to crystal, from plastic to ceramic.
The history of the glass dates back to the mists of time: the first examples of glass - that is the first containers used by man for drinking - were "natural tools", objects available in nature and not subjected to any processing: tree bark, shells, stones dug by the water.
Before the introduction of the metric system in Italy, the "glass" represented the unit of measurement of liquid capacity, with different values in different cities.
A first example of a glass worked by man is represented by the horns of animals that were excavated by the ancient Egyptians, the Persians and the Italic population.
The Phoenicians were the first to produce and spread the first real glasses in transparent glass on a large scale.
During the Pompeian era the history of the glass enters its modernity of shapes and decorations: making glasses becomes a real art that imposes new aesthetic but also practical canons, with the bottom that begins to be no longer flat but concave and decorations. with precious stones and other precious materials.
From 1500 onwards the Venetian master craftsmen were the most requested abroad, from Germany to Holland, from Spain to France.
Venetian glasses are synonymous with refinement and value, the cups become wider, the stems longer, all embellished with carvings and decorations, lace-shaped wings and elegant saucers. Famous and admired or Murano glass glasses at the court of Caterina de 'Medici. The era of luxury glasses, in crystal or diamond-engraved glass, an object of furniture as well as a symbol of wealth and social prestige, had entered its full splendor.
Source: artimondo.it
