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The History of Roman Glass Making
Introduction:
During 2014 there are going to be several exhibitions about glass opening at the Figge
Art Museum. One such exhibit is an installation of Roman glass. This exhibition will be located
in the Medieval Gallery in the permanent collection area of the Museum. This exhibition
revolves around two small objects, a bowl and an eyeliner tube. When my group and I were first
given the task of creating an exhibit around these two objects we immediately jumped at the fact
that they were both made in the free blown glass technique and evolved our exhibition design
around that idea. My portion of the exhibition focused on the objects themselves, the history of
Roman glass making, as well as the cube interactive that we adopted from the Denver Art
Museum (DAM) and any associated education activities outside of the actual exhibit. This paper
will outline the project and explore the justification behind our exhibition choices through a
discussion of the literature that directly affected our decisions.
Project Summary:
Glass has a unique and long history. The goal for our presentation is to introduce this
history but focus mainly on the Roman impact during its creation. When we were first given the
task of creating an exhibition on two Roman glass pieces we were intimidated but quickly found
the direction that we wanted to go. We wanted to have a way for people to actively interactive
with the exhibit as well as have written panels throughout the room providing background
information to the topic. The exhibit has a broad theme with many parts. Below is an image of
the room design and a description.
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Upon entering the room, the first thing that visitors see are the objects. We wanted our
visitors to be wowed when they walk in. Directly to the left on the entrance will be our
introductory panel explaining the focus on the exhibition. The wall to the left on the entrance
will be the first interactive, a cube interactive, which will be explained further later on in this
paper. There will a panel about the interactive and how to use it. Moving around the room the
back wall of the exhibit, behind the display case, will be three panels focusing on the history of
Roman glass, the function and use, and types of glass making. To the right of the door way will
be the second interactive. This one is a bit more complicated than the cube interactive because it
has more parts. This interactive gives visitors an opportunity to play-act creating blown glass.
There will be various glass blowing tools as well as a recreated Roman furnace in the corner.
Next to the furnace will be a comment book on the wall to the right of the doorway.
We wanted to go with a broad topic for our exhibition because then it would allow for a
wider audience. This is an exhibition that men, women, children, and families to learn from. We
did not want to cater specially to one group or another because we wanted to take advantage of
the Figge’s large audience base. We also wanted to incorporate two interactive because many of
the Figge’s galleries are rather static and we wanted visitors to really spend time in the space and
enjoy the pieces on display.
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Object Information:
The objects that we were given for this project included a double cosmetic tube and a
bowl. Both of these items are made of glass and both are free-blown glass pieces. The double
cosmetic tube is dated to the 4th century BC while the bowl is dated to the 4th-early 5th century
BC. These items are very small and having an entire room devoted to them presented quite a
challenge. We decided to keep the objects together in one display case rather than try and putting
them in separate cases. There will be an object label in the case for each object.
The object labels will have what the object is, when it was made, how it was made, where
it came from, and the collection number. The two label’s text will look like this:
Double Cosmetic Tube
4th century CE
Free-blown glass
12.3 x 6.7 x 3.3 cm.
Augustana Art Collection
2001.9
Bowl
4th – early 5th century CE
Free-blown glass
6.5 x 7.2 x 7.2 cm
Augustana Art Collection
2001.8
These labels are written just to give the most basic information about the object and be placed in
close proximity to each item. If visitors choose to read the larger panel on Function and Use for
more information they can but these object labels allow visitors to interpret the objects the way
that they would like.
The History of Roman Glass Making and Other Wall Texts:
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The history of Roman glass-making is not the easiest thing to summarize in 75 words. In
order to do this it was vital for me to pick out the most important information about the Roman’s
relationship with glass. I did this by looking into the early history of glass as well as how the
Roman’s contributed to this history. This panel provides the visitor with the basic history of
when glass was invented and the techniques that the Roman’s developed. The panel reads as
such:
The History of Roman Glass
Some of the earliest glass pieces were first produced in Egypt and Mesopotamia. By the time the
Roman Republic was established in 509 B.C. glass pieces were mainly used as tableware or
containers. In 50 B.C. the Romans discovered the art of glassblowing, still used today. This
technique requires gathering molten glass on the end of a pipe and inflating it. The glass could
then be shaped into nearly any form using simple tools.
The panels following this history discuss the function and forms of glass and the different glass
making techniques. I was not responsible for making either of these panels but it is important to
discuss them since they did effect that information that I could provide in the cube interactive.
The two panels can be seen below.
Function and Use
The two objects in the display case at the center of the room are two different types of freeblown glass (see ‘Type’ panel). The first object is a “Double Cosmetic Tube”, which has origins
in Ancient Egypt, when both men and women would paint dark black lines around their eyes as
protection from the sun. In this piece, one side would have held the eyeliner, and the other side
would hold an applicator. The other object is a bowl, thought to have been a wine cup but later
disproved due to the unfinished edge of the rim.
The purpose of the Function and Use panel is to give visitors an idea of how the two objects, the
double cosmetic tube and bowl, were used. The panel provides a simple history of the cosmetic
tube while talking about modern day interpretations for the bowl.
Types of Glass Making
Casting Glass: The most common way to cast glass was with the “sagging” method, where hot
glass was put over a convex former mold.
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Free Blown Glass: Revolutionized Italian Glass Industry. It allowed for a new range of forms to
take shape. It provided versatility and speed of production as well as new ways to experiment,
including combining free blown glass with other techniques.
Mold Blown Glass: Molds, made out of a durable material like baked clay, were comprised of
two parts so it could be opened and removed safely. The molds were usually intricate with
designs appearing in relief.
This panel teaches visitors about the three techniques for glass making, there are also pictures for
each type (not shown). With a panel like this visitors are able to compare and contrast the various
techniques by looking at the pictures as well as referring back to the objects in the center of the
room.
Cube Interactive:
The cube interactive that we chose to use in the exhibition was inspired by the Denver
Art Museum. Their design is embedded in the wall with slots for 46 cubes with 18 actual cubes
as part of the interactive. I can only assume that they did this so if they wanted to add more cubes
they could. Each cube had a combination of pictures, facts, and quotations from art professionals.
For this particular cube interactive they focused on a piece of art and had each cube discuss a
specific aspect of that piece. This gave visitors an opportunity to see how different people
interpreted a piece of art rather than just providing one way to look at it.
Our cube interactive is slightly different from the DAM’s interactive. The purpose of our
cube interactive was to provide supplemental information to the exhibition as well as connecting
it to other glass installments that are being exhibited at the Figge. We thought it was important to
incorporate these glass installations to not only bring attention to them and make sure that
visitors see them, but also to showcase other uses for glass. We want visitors to sit and spend
time looking at these cubes so we have seating available facing both the cubes and the objects on
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display in the center of the room. There will be a panel next to the interactive to explain what it
is and how to use it.
Cube Connection
To your right is the Cube Connection. This activity is made up of three-dimensional
cubes with information on Roman glass as well as other glass exhibitions taking place at the
Figge. These cubes have pictures, facts, quotations, and other information to help guide your
visit here at the Figge. All you need to do is pick a cube, take a seat, and explore the world of
glass.
The cube interactive will be made up of a short bookshelf with 3-4 shelves with 12 slots
for cubes. There will only be ten cubes in the interactive but leaving space for two more would
allow more cubes to be added later. Each cube will focus on an installation, specific object,
person, or additional information about Roman glass. The cube themes are: the additional glass
exhibitions Kids Design Glass, Landscape: Ingalena Klenell and Beth Lipman, Katja Loher:
Videoplanet Orchestra, and well as Corn Zone. The cubes also tie back to the permanent
collections with the Tiffany window, the River of Life, and connecting back to Frank Lloyd
Wright as well as a cube on glass in architecture. Other cube themes include how glass is made,
Roman etiquette and glass, and finally a cube looking at the major events in the evolution of
glass making. Each of these will have their own cube with a picture of the installation, person, or
object as well as any information that is interesting about the piece, artist, style, or technique. An
example of the information that will be on the cubes can be seen below.
Example cube:
Side 1:
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Side 2: What is glass made of?
Glass is made of a combination of sand, silica, lime and soda that is melted
together, shaped, and let sit to cool and harden.
Side 3: How does glass get its color?
Glass gets its color by mixing different minerals in with the molten sand.
Glassblowers create green by mixing in malachite and pyrolusite for purple. The
glass’s color and intensity also depend upon the furnaces atmosphere, oxygen-rich
or oxygen-poor.
Side 4: Egyptian poetry depicted the art of glassblowing:
“And the crystal, as it tasted the heat of the fire, was
softened by the strokes of Hephaistos…The glass
received the force of his breath and became swollen
out around itself like a sphere before it…”
Side 5: Why does Roman glass shimmer?
Some Roman glass shimmers or looks to be covered with gold foil, but that is not
the case. This shimmering effect was not intentional when making the glass. The
effect comes from weathering. When glass is buried for a long period of time in
damp soil the iron in the glass rusts causing the shimmering effect.
Side 6: What is the difference between glass and crystal?
Crystal contains lead while glass does not. For an item to be considered crystal it
must have at least a 24% lead content. Anything less than that, it is just simply
glass.
The reason that this interactive was so attractive to us was that it could be held and
manipulated by the user. Just by picking up the cube and looking at it, the user is taking part in
the activity which is just the first step. This activity could then spark their interest to see what
other information the cubes could give them as well as have a better understanding of the
exhibition as a whole. Even though the cubes are not the focal point of the exhibit they provide
visitors with an opportunity to sit and absorb related material to what is on display. It would also
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allow parents to sit and do something while their children play with the recreated Roman furnace
on the other side of the room.
Associated Educational Activities:
When an exhibit opens it is important for there to be additional activities to continually
draw people back to the museum. With our exhibit we discussed many different types of
educational programming that would be directed at various audiences rather than just families
and children. We wanted to incorporate teenagers, and well as senior citizens, and have catered
programs toward those audiences. We also wanted to incorporate trips, both locally and globally,
to explore glass studios and see modern techniques and be able to see how they have changed
over time. Our list of programs includes:
-Family night: free admission to the museum with an art activity, making stained glass or
glass mosaics (real or fake with tissue paper).
-Senior night: bingo night with wine, prizes would include items made of glass.
-Teen night: this night gives teen an opportunity to draw something that they would like
to see made out of glass, similar to the Kids Design Glass exhibition. Each person can submit
one drawing and depending on how many there are we could arrange having the piece actually
made.
-Lecture series: invite local glass blowers as well as Dr. Emil A. Kramer to perform a
gallery talk because he wrote the article about the two Roman glass pieces.
-Field trips: these would be both locally, such a tour of a local glassblowing workshop or
bottle making company, or internationally, such as a trip to Italy to explore well-known glass
sites in Rome and the surrounding areas.
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Programming is not the only thing that is important to include with an exhibition, store
merchandise is also important. By having pieces that correlate with the exhibition visitors can
not only take a piece home with them but they can show others something from the exhibit and
that may convince them to visit. Some store items could include stained glass window
ornaments, various drinking glasses, paper weights, and decorative glass pieces. Books on
various aspects on glass such as techniques, artists, Roman glass, and how to make glass would
also be a great item for a museum store to have as well.
Budget Breakdown:
The budget breakdown for our exhibition is pretty simple. The most expensive items will
be all of the vinyl’s which includes the text panels and picture vinyl’s to create a threedimensional look for the furnace. We estimate this cost to be around $1,000. Most of the other
materials are for building various objects such as the furnace, as well as constructing the tools
interactive. The tools will be on loan. The cubes interactive will need a bookshelf as well as
plexiglass to make the cubes. Further budget item breakdown, cost, and total can be seen below.
Item
Bookshelf
Wire rope
Building materials (furnace)
Flame light
6 vinyl’s
Materials for cubes
Glass blowing tools
Approximate Price (Dollars)
55.99
60.00
150.00
20.00
1,000.00
25.00
0.00
Estimated Total
1310.99
Literature Review:
Source
Target
Home Depot
Menards
Target
Office Max
Loan
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One of the most important factors going into this exhibit was choosing our audience. We
knew right away that we wanted to cater to each kind of museum visitor. These visitor roles are
outlined in John Falk’s book Identity and the Museum Visitor Experience. Falk describes five
categories of visitors, Explorers, Experience Seekers, Facilitators, Rechargers, and
Professional/Hobbyists (Falk 2009). What is also great about Falk’s text is that he describes how
to attract each group as well as how to accommodate the needs of each kind of visitor. The cube
interactive was made for Explores because it allows them to explore and learn things at their own
pace. Experience seekers want to have a good time with whatever they are doing. They can
benefit both from the cubes as well as the tools interactive. They can imagine themselves in
another time and place while actively simulating the making of blown glass. For the Facilitators
we have the wall texts and the cubes. They can read the texts and cubes and then be able to help
others understand the material at a level that is appropriate for them. The information is
educational and applies to life outside the Museum’s walls. This entire exhibit is great for
Rechargers. The room is an intimate location with its lower ceiling so the ambiance alone is
appealing. By having a bench that faces out into the room they can see everything from their seat
and be able to enjoy everything as they like. The oddball group is the Professional/Hobbyists.
They are not interested in text labels or interactive but this group would really benefit from the
additional education opportunities that go along with the exhibit. The tours are perfect for them
since they are behind-the-scenes and give them a glimpse to how glass is made. The gallery talks
would also benefit Professional/Hobbyists since the information provided there is more than
what is on the panels.
Another text that provided information about visitors was Ignite the Power of Art:
Advancing Visitor Engagement in Museums by Bonnie Pitman and Ellen Hirzy. Pitman and
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Hirzy break down the visitor experience based on survey results from the Dallas Museum of Art
(DMA). Their results showed four different clusters of visitors, Participants, Observers,
Independents, and Enthusiasts. Unlike Falk who focused on the motivation of visitors, Pitman
and Hirzy wanted to “learn about preference and characteristics of DMA visitors in relation to art
experiences” (Pitman and Hirzy 2010). Looking at Participants, they like to be active in the
exhibition space and like information presented in different fashions. For them the cube
interactive is new and is an interesting was to present information, they would also enjoy the
themed evening events that would allow them to actively partake in creating art. Observers,
however, are not as confident in their knowledge of art and this exhibit is perfectly catered for
them. It blends all sorts of information together and makes the art on display relatable and easy
to talk about. Independent visitors would enjoy looking directly at the objects, especially since
we did not put a description label in the case with them. We did this so visitors could connect on
their own with the objects. We also provided books for further reading and lectures about glassmaking to pique the curiosities of Independents. Lastly are the Enthusiasts. For the Enthusiasts
the interactives are important, as well as participatory events like any of our evening programs
that involve creating their own art. Using this text was also invaluable to us since it connects
directly with the people and how they understand art. This way we could create an exhibit for all
sorts of visitors to enjoy.
The third text that greatly influenced our exhibit design was Denver Art Museum: New
Angles of Interpretation - Appendix 1: Description of the Interpretives from the Denver Art
Museum. Both of the interactives in our exhibition are based off of ideas presented in the
Appendix. We liked how creative the DAM was with their interactive exhibitions and wanted to
adopt some of those ideas for our own. The two that we honed onto were their cube interactive,
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as explained above, and the Western Studio Browsing Objects. The Western Studio is a space
that the Museum created with a section of wall that has cupboards and drawers that visitors can
open and handle the objects inside, some of the items were real while others were replicas
(Appendix 1). We took this idea but decided to recreate a Roman furnace and allow visitors to
handle glass-blowing tools and try their hand at “making” glass. We actually came up with these
ideas before the rest of the exhibition and with them in place we created the exhibition around
the objects as well as the interactives.
Revisions:
There are not many revisions that I would make to the exhibit that my group and I
created. We all wanted to include each other’s ideas while still keeping the exhibition practical
but still what we envisioned. One idea that I would change would be the display cases. I really
like the idea of having the object separated. Visitors can move around each object individually
and be able to see all sides of each object. I think that it is important for museums to provide as
close of access to something as possible and by having both objects in the same display case
makes them difficult to enjoy on their own.
Another change that I would have made was to the recreated furnace. This was more
budget related than anything else, but I would have liked to have created a scene rather than just
the furnace. I know the vinyls would be extremely expensive but I want the visitor to feel like
they are part of a glass-blowing studio. That they are actively taking part in the making of the
glass rather than just having a standalone furnace with no context.
The last revision that I would have made was more text. This was something that was
shot down right away. I am use to writing information for history and natural history museums,
not art museums. So when we were first throwing out idea for text labels, it was brought to my
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attention that the Figge is an art museum, obviously. Art museums do not use lengthy text labels
and generally prefer not to have any large labels, except for an object label, next to a piece. I was
upset at first that we could not provide all this information about glass but I understand that is not
what an art museum is all about and had to adjust my writing to match what was needed.
Conclusion:
This project was a learning experience. I have helped design exhibitions before but it was
never about the visitors, it was always about the objects and information. Doing this project
really made me look at a completely different side of exhibition design and how they really
should always be focused on the visitor. I realize that sounds so obvious but while working on
this project that really dawn on me. I enjoyed being able to apply everything that I had learned in
class about the various learning types and motivations and then use that as the foundation for an
exhibition. Our goal was to incorporate as many learning types as we could into our exhibit and
make sure that everyone could utilize the space the way they wanted and all walk away learning
something new. I know an exhibit is successful if after walking out of an exhibit, visitors are
talking about what they read and sharing bits of information with each other. Our exhibit
provides a plethora of information for everyone and hopefully they will share that information
with friends and family for years to come.
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References:
Web and Book Sources:
1. "Appendices." Denver Art Museum: New Angles of Interpretation. N.p.: n.p., n.d. 42, 5960. Print.
2. Fecht, Michele M. "Q: What Is the Difference between Crystal and Glass..." Chicago
Tribune. Chicago Tribune, 29 Nov. 1998. Web. 09 Dec. 2013.
3. "Glassmaking in Roman Times." Penn Museum. Penn Museum, n.d. Web. 09 Dec. 2013.
4. "Glass of the Romans." Corning Museum of Glass. Corning Museum of Glass, 2002.
Web. 09 Dec. 2013.
5. "Archvies of Ask A Scientist!" CornellCenter for Materials Research: An NSF MRSEC
(CCMR). Cornell University, 9 Feb. 2000. Web. 08 Dec. 2013.
6. "How Glass Is Made." Viridian: New World Glass. Viridian, n.d. Web. 09 Dec. 2013.
7. Falk, John H. "Chapter 2 - The Museum." Identity and the Museum Visitor Experience.
Walnut Creek, CA: Left Coast, 2009. 64. Print.
8. Falk, John H. “Chapter 10 – Making Museums Work for Visitors.” Identity and Museum
Visitor Experience. Walnut Creek, CAL Left Coast, 2009. 217-232. Print.
9. Pitman, Bonnie, and Ellen Hirzy. "Chapter 2 - Understand How Visitors Engage With
Art." Ignite the Power of Art: Advancing Visitor Engagement in Museums. Dallas: Dallas
Museum of Art, 2010. 38-82. Print.
10. "Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History - Roman Glass." The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, n.d. Web. 06 Dec. 2013.
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Images Sources:
1. "When Does a Pile of Sand Become a Heap ? – The Sorites Paradox."
GuernseyDonkey.com. Guernseydonkey.com, 9 Apr. 2013. Web. 09 Dec. 2013.
2. "Liberal Arts through the AGES: Interdisciplinary Art Historical Inquiry." Liberal Arts
through the AGES: Interdisciplinary Art Historical Inquiry. Agustana College, n.d. Web.
09 Dec. 2013.