This book is an interdisciplinary exploration of archaeological glass in which technological, historical, geological, chemical and cultural aspects of the study of ancient glass are combined. The book examines why and how this unique material was invented some 4,500 years ago and considers the ritual, social, economic and political contexts of its development. It also provides an in-depth consideration of glass as a material, the raw materials used to make it, and its wide range of chemical compositions in both the East and the West from its invention to the seventeenth century AD. Julian Henderson focuses on three contrasting archaeological and scientific case studies: Late Bronze Age glass, late Hellenistic–early Roman glass, and Islamic glass in the Middle East. He considers in detail the provenances of ancient glass using scientific techniques and discusses a range of vessels and their uses in ancient societies.
• The first volume that brings interdisciplinary studies of ancient glass together • A clearly written exposition which provides detailed insights into a broad spectrum of ancient glass studies • The first study to consider ancient glass in broad social, economic and political contexts in the ancient world from c.4000 BC to the fifteenth century AD using a combination of techniques from the humanities and sciences
Contents
1. Glass as a material: a technological background in fiaence, pottery and metal?; 2. Ways to flux silica: ashes and minerals; 3. Silica, lime and glass colorants; 4. Glass chemical compositions; 5. Early glass: archaeology; 6. Scientific analysis of early glass; 7. Hellenistic to Roman: a change from small- to large-scale glass production?; 8. Scientific studies of Hellenistic and early Roman glass; 9. Islamic glass: technological continuity and innovation; 10. Chemical analyses of Islamic glasses; 11. The provenance of ancient glass; 12. Conclusions.
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