Glass captured the imagination of artisans in ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia, who used it to fashion minute objects such as pendants, beads and inlays. In the mid-second millennium BCE, small glass containers were first produced as luxury items for the royal courts. These vessels were made in the core-forming technique in a variety of hues – principally deep blue, turquoise, yellow and white – which emulated semi-precious metals. Over the centuries various casting methods, as well as mosaic-glass and gold-glass techniques, were employed. As the demand for glass vessels increased, sophisticated production methods evolved and new forms were introduced.

Some 2,000 years ago, in the Roman period, the invention of glassblowing in the eastern Mediterranean brought about a revolution in glassmaking. The characteristic transparency, delicacy, and subtle colors, as well as many of the forms – wineglasses, bottles, juglets and jars – that were introduced in the Roman period are still the trademarks of glassware today.

Recent excavations in Israel have uncovered assemblages which enable regional and chronological classification of types and forms: date and distribution, as well as patterns of trade and fashion can now be fixed with greater accuracy. Glass vessels help date archaeological strata and remains, as their typological changes over the years provide a chronological yardstick in a manner similar to that of pottery vessels and lamps.

Ancient glass was produced by mixing and fusing sand (silica), soda (natron) and lime in a furnace heated to a high temperature (over 1150 degrees centigrade), Primary glass was usually produced where the raw materials and fuel were readily available, and at a distance from settled areas, as the heat and smoke disturbed the inhabitants of the cities – to the extent that municipal bylaws were issued on the subject. Remains of such centers have come to light at Bet She`arim, Apollonia, Bet Eli`ezer and many other sites in Israel.

This exhibition presents the story of glass industry in ancient Israel, and at the same time provides us with a valuable perspective on the history of glassmaking throughout the ancient world. Many of the examples on display here are exhibited abroad for the first time.


For more information, please contact Mrs Helena Sokolov , Coordinator of Special Projects - National Treasures