History
Glass: a story still unfolding
For thousands of years, people have shaped glass to protect, store, decorate and celebrate what matters to them.
From the first small vessels of the ancient world to Renaissance masterpieces and today’s glass packaging, every generation has found new possibilities in the same remarkable material.
Where did glass begin?
There is no single moment when someone simply “invented” glass. Its story developed gradually.
Glazed materials were already being made in Egypt and the Near East several millennia BCE. Glassmaking as a distinct craft emerged later, and by the middle of the second millennium BCE, artisans in Egypt and the Near East were producing some of the earliest known glass vessels.
One early technique was core-forming: hot glass was shaped around a removable core to create small hollow containers, often used for precious oils, perfumes or cosmetics.
Source: Corning Museum of Glass, Origins of Glassmaking and Core-Formed Vase — Explore the history of early glassmaking
Three moments that changed glass
Some of the earliest glass vessels were made by applying glass around a removable core. Egyptian craftspeople quickly developed the technique to make colourful perfume bottles, cosmetic containers and drinking vessels.
These were small objects, but they marked a big step: glass was becoming a material that could hold and protect something precious.
Source: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Amphora-shaped perfume bottle, and Corning Museum of Glass, Core-Formed Vase — See an early Egyptian glass vessel
When glass became an art form
The art of Islamic glass
Across the medieval Islamic world, glassmakers developed extraordinary decorative skills.
In regions including Syria and Egypt, craftspeople worked with techniques such as cutting, staining, enamelling and gilding. By the 13th and 14th centuries, richly decorated vessels combined intricate patterns, vivid colours and gold details.
Their work reminds us that a glass container has never been only functional. It can also carry culture, craftsmanship and beauty.
Source: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Enameled and Gilded Glass from Islamic Lands — Discover the collection and techniques
Venice makes it shine
From the late Middle Ages onwards, Venice became one of Europe’s great centres of glassmaking, with production closely associated with the island of Murano.
During the Renaissance, Venetian glassmakers developed exceptionally refined colourless cristallo and increasingly elaborate decorative techniques. Filigree — patterns created using canes of coloured or opaque glass — became one of Murano’s celebrated innovations.
Their skills were so highly valued that the Venetian authorities took measures to protect glassmaking knowledge and restrict craftspeople from taking those techniques abroad.
Source: Corning Museum of Glass, The Techniques of Renaissance Venetian Glassworking — Explore Renaissance Venetian glassmaking
ROMAN GLASS
A new way to shape glass: blowing opened up a world of forms and helped vessels become more widely available.
ISLAMIC GLASS
Enamel, colour and gold turned glass vessels into remarkable examples of decorative craftsmanship.
VENETIAN GLASS
Renaissance glassmakers pushed transparency, lightness and filigree techniques to new levels of refinement.
A jar changes food history
At the beginning of the 19th century, French confectioner Nicolas Appert found a new way to preserve food for longer: placing it in sealed containers and heating it.
In 1809, his preserved foods were examined by a French scientific commission, and he published his method the following year. Glass bottles and jars were central to the process. The microbiology behind food spoilage was not yet understood, but Appert’s experiments helped establish heat treatment in sealed containers as a major food-preservation technique.
Suddenly, a familiar glass container was part of a much bigger idea: making food last.
Source: Fondation Napoléon, Appert et l’invention de la conserve — Read the historical account
A material with
a place in history
Glass has travelled through cultures, centuries and technologies while continually finding new roles — in science, architecture, communication, art and packaging.
In 2021, the United Nations General Assembly officially declared 2022 the International Year of Glass, recognising the material’s contribution across many areas of society.
“Glass has evolved along with humanity.”
Representative of Spain, United Nations General Assembly, 2021
For a material with such a long past, that recognition was also a reminder that its story is still being written.
Source: United Nations General Assembly, Resolution A/RES/75/279, International Year of Glass, 2022 — Read the UN resolution
History keeps moving forward
Today, glassmaking is entering another period of change.
European container glass manufacturers are developing and deploying electric and hybrid furnaces, testing lower-carbon energy sources and continuing to lightweight bottles and jars. These innovations are designed to reduce the environmental footprint of production while keeping glass packaging ready for the products and brands of tomorrow.
The techniques may change. The relationship between glass, craft and innovation continues.
Source: FEVE, Decarbonisation Report: One destination, multiple pathways, and Forging a Net Zero Future for Glass Packaging — Explore how glassmaking is evolving
A history worth keeping alive
The story of glass is still being researched, collected and shared.
Institutions including the Corning Museum of Glass, the Association for the History of Glass, the Glasmuseum Hentrich and the International Commission on Glass continue to study glassmaking techniques, preserve historic objects and pass this knowledge on to new generations.
Because after thousands of years of innovation, there is still plenty more to discover.
