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The Mystery of Alchemy and its Influence on Baroque Glass Explored in
Glass of the Alchemists: Lead Crystal-Gold Ruby, 1650–1750
Opens at The Corning Museum of Glass June 27, 2008
Corning, NY (March 6, 2008) – The impact of alchemy on glass will be explored in Glass of the Alchemists: Lead Crystal-Gold Ruby, 1650–1750, opening at The Corning Museum of Glass on June 27, 2008. The exhibition highlights the newly understood role of these 17th-century “chymists” in laying the foundation for modern material science. Often dismissed during their lifetimes as mere charlatans, their contributions to the creation of colorless lead crystal and gold ruby, two key developments in the history of glass production and artistry, have also previously been overlooked.
Drawn extensively from the collection of The Corning Museum of Glass, the most comprehensive collection of glass in the world, the exhibition brings together 117 objects from eight international lenders, with 87 from the Corning Museum’s collection. The exhibition is curated by Dedo von Kerssenbrock-Krosigk, curator of European glass, The Corning Museum of Glass, and will be on view in Corning through January 4, 2009.
David Whitehouse, executive director of The Corning Museum of Glass, said: “We’re delighted to present this innovative exhibition that approaches fine 17th- and 18th-century glass vessels in a new way. As well as focusing on masterpieces of glassworking and engraving, it explores innovations in glassmaking—new formulas that created glass with new properties, and therefore new optical and decorative effects.”
“These marvelous innovations have long been viewed as the isolated achievements of individual, talented glassmakers working in the leading glassmaking regions of northern Europe,” added von Kerssenbrock-Krosigk. “But this exhibition reveals the previously disregarded role of the mysterious scientists, whose experiments to unlock the secrets of nature wielded unexpected and profound results on the history of glassmaking.”
The exhibition will be the centerpiece of a broad roster of programs throughout the summer which will allow visitors to further explore the science, magic, and even wizardry, of the material—from hot glass demonstrations and interactive installations, to presentations that showcase the incredible properties of glass and make-your-own workshops where visitors will be able to create objects in the gold ruby color, ornament-sized wizard hats in fused glass and flameworked magic wands.
Alchemists traveled widely throughout northern Europe, interacting with glassmakers and disseminating their knowledge of material science and glass production. In some cases, they also turned to glassmaking themselves. In doing so, they served as a link between glassmakers in disparate regions of Europe and as far afield as Asia. This connection accounts for the rather unlikely, and nearly simultaneous, appearance of crystal glass in Baroque glassworks across Europe.
Often interpreted as accidents, the innovations of the alchemists were actually deliberate experiments that provided an unexpected foundation for today’s material sciences. Alchemists strived for the explanation of natural phenomena, especially of what they perceived to be the generation and growth of natural resources. Through experiments that simulated natural processes, this early stage of chemistry explored the basic natural sciences and technology of materials (metal, glass, ceramics, and their raw components). The knowledge gained was decisive in the discovery of colorless lead crystal in the 1670s and gold ruby glass a decade later.
In the 1670s and 1680s, Venetian glass reigned over the market, with its voluptuous, highly colored forms and thin-walled vessels. The northern European innovations revealed a shift in interest from glassblowing, showcased exquisitely in the Venetian style, to the material itself, facilitating the creation of vessels with walls thick enough to carve and cut in their decoration. Critical to these advancements were new glass formulas, an improved treatment of raw materials, and innovations in furnace technology. All of these came straight from the laboratories of alchemists. Repeated experiments, coupled with a deep knowledge of material science, allowed the alchemists to both select the right raw materials to produce the new variety of glass and to understand the potential interactions, both desirable and not, of the component elements. Such experimentation could not have happened in a large glassworks factory, where the focus was on production.
Baroque Chymists
The exhibition introduces visitors to some of the unconventional scientists involved in these experiments and the resulting legacy of their ideas and travels. Deep curiosity—awe coupled with suspicion—in alchemy reached a climax in the Baroque era. Seen as a potential way to imitate nature, alchemy’s mysterious methods of transforming materials were crucial in the development of new ways of investigating nature during the height of the scientific revolution in the 16th and 17th centuries. Alchemists were brought to noble courts to live and work in the hopes that they could harness untold riches from their experiments.
Johann Rudolf Glauber (1604–1670, b. Germany, lived Amsterdam) is considered one of the first, and most influential, chymists. Glauber used a furnace in an Amsterdam glasshouse for some of his experiments, where his innovations were viewed first-hand by the glassmakers. He is credited with inventing a solution of gold that led to the production of gold ruby glass. While he took no active interest in glassmaking, his achievements provided a foundation of influence that spread across northern Europe and into Asia. His formulas were an essential part of the development of glass technology in the Baroque era.
In the early 1670s, two major glassmakers, Johan da Costa and Jor Odacio, emigrated from the Netherlands. Da Costa moved to England and Odacio to Ireland. It is believed that both were familiar with Glauber’s work, which they built upon to ultimately create the formula for lead crystal. This invention witnessed a major setback when the efforts to purify the formulas for clear glass led to the effect of crizzling, which results when glass has been purified to the point of losing the elements that help maintain its stability. Characterized by a delicately crackled surface, crizzled glass is often referred to as “sick glass.” The flaw was overcome by increasing the amount of lead, which heightened the stability of the glass. Da Costa’s formula was patented by George Ravenscroft, owner of the Savoy Glasshouse in England, which produced and sold English lead crystal that eventually found its way to the pioneer settlement of Jamestown in the United States.
On the European continent, an assistant of Glauber, Johann Daniel Crafft (1624–1697), is credited with circulating new techniques and ideas that were central to many Baroque glassmaking developments. A craftsman as well as chymist, he introduced opaque white glass to northern Europe and worked with many influential chymists and craftsmen, helping to spread Glauber’s ideas and techniques far and wide.
Johann Kunckel (1637(?)–1703) worked with Crafft in Dresden, and was the first to actually produce gold ruby vessels, using Glauber’s formulas. To provide a secluded location for his experiments, Kunckel’s patron, the Brandenburg prince Frederick William, donated an island in the Havel River between Berlin and Potsdam, which provided the ideal location for an isolated research laboratory where Kunckel could continue his production of gold ruby glass away from the eyes of imitators. When William died, Kunckel became the target of those who envied his progress and his island laboratory was set afire. Kunckel stayed for the most part in Brandenburg, but turned his interest to other fields of research, such as the extraction of copper from ores.
Crafft worked with Jesuit priest and glassmaker Christoph Diem (b. 1636), who in turn trained Kilian Stumpf (1655–1720). Stumpf provided the link with Asia: he was a missionary to China in the 1680s and, while there, organized the Palace glassworks in Beijing, extending the influence and innovations of European alchemists across the globe.
Another important alchemic thread at this time is seen through Johann Friedrich Böttger (1682–1719), who worked on numerous experiments to transmute metals into silver and gold. While his attempts to create gold did not yield the expected results, he contributed to the discovery of another critically important formula for northern European crafts: European hard porcelain, an invention that changed household life and collecting throughout Europe. Böttger came to the attention of the public after his demonstration of a transmutation in a pharmacy in Berlin. Following his experiment, he feared being charged with fraud and fled the city, only to be caught and imprisoned by troops of the Saxon prince and king of Poland, Augustus II. While imprisoned, he was given assistance to continue his alchemic studies, including the experiments that led to the invention of European hard porcelain.
Exhibition Highlights
- The exhibition begins with a replica of an alchemist’s workshop, showcasing the mysterious nature of the space with its variety of unusual objects, from the raw elements used in experiments to the laboratory equipment employed in the alchemists’ work. A display of alchemic vessels includes a 17th-century Mortar and Pestle, believed to have been found in a canal in Amsterdam.
- A series of glass vessels demonstrates the many variations of color tinges that were produced in the attempt to achieve perfectly colorless glass. Objects are displayed by region, from the British Isles through central Europe. English lead crystal, sealed glasses and Bohemian goblets complete the display of clear glass, including a Rummer from the Savoy Glasshouse in London, sealed by George Ravenscroft. One of five known English rummers with seals, this object plays a crucial role in the understanding of early British lead crystal.
- English and Bohemian goblets, covered, cut and engraved, showcase the new techniques using thicker-walled vessels. Clear goblets decorated with red canes introduce the bold properties of gold ruby glass.
- A dazzling display of gold ruby objects, the most comprehensive ever assembled for a museum exhibition, features a number of magnificent objects, including a late 17th-century goblet with an ornately detailed frieze of putti cavorting on a scrolling grapevine. This display stands in the center of the show; it gives an impression of the Baroque concept of treasure and “Wunder” chambers and shows, and shows how gold ruby was treated as a material of its own kind, somewhat removed from glass, but not yet a true precious stone.
- The last section of the exhibition showcases marvelous examples of Asian glass from this period, including the renowned Warrior Vase, with its sumptuous decoration of cut ruby glass.
- The exhibition also examines the concept of alchemical transmutation, featuring two lumps of gold and silver created by Böttger in 1713 in Dresden, in the presence of King Augustus II of Poland.
Museum Programs and Publications
In conjunction with the exhibition, the Corning Museum will present an array of programs to provide visitors with a greater understanding of the glass objects on view in the exhibition. These programs will complement the history and the artistry of glass showcased in exhibitions and the permanent collection, and they allow visitors to learn about the full scope of the material, from its creation to its myriad uses.
At the Museum’s daily live glassblowing demonstrations, glassmakers will create works using gold ruby, and showcase techniques used to make objects in the exhibition. In the galleries, visitors will be encouraged to try hands-on activities that explore these different glass varieties and to touch and feel examples of lead crystal and gold ruby. Demonstrations about the material components of glass, as well as hands-on glass science exhibits, will complement these activities, allowing visitors to gain a deeper understanding of glass processes and formulas.
Visitors may also participate in Make Your Own Glass experiences in the Museum’s Studio to further explore the mysterious properties of glass. In addition to regular offerings, visitors may create objects in the gold ruby color, ornament-sized wizard hats in fused glass, and flameworked magic wands. Year-round, the Museum offers short workshops in glass beadmaking, glassblowing, and other glassmaking techniques. Experiences are available for all ages, even preschoolers.
The Museum’s Rakow Library, the world’s foremost library on the art and history of glass and glassmaking, also will present an exhibition of related archival materials drawn from its extensive collections. The Science of Glassmaking: Eight Centuries of a Magical Art will assemble selected materials relating to the science & technology of glass. Beginning with the 12th century, the exhibition will explore 800 years of glassmaking knowledge and lore in a century-by-century arrangement. The display will include glass recipes along with images of glassmaking tools, technical processes, and finished pieces from the same period. Historical prints and scanned images from rare books also will be on view.
The exhibition’s accompanying catalogue, published by The Corning Museum of Glass, features contributions by numerous scientists and scholars, and explores the history, science and legacy of alchemy. Contributors include:
- Colin Brain, private researcher and director of the Association for the History of Glass, the U.K. committee of the Association Internationale pour l’Histoire du Verre
- Olga Drahotová, former curator in chief of the Department of Glass and Ceramics at the Museum of Decorative Arts in Prague
- Paul Engle, laboratory support manager, Geller Micro-Analytical Laboratory
- Curator Dedo von Kerssenbrock-Krosigk
- Werner Loibl, former director of the Spessartmuseum, Lohr-am-Main, Germany
- Martin Mádl, researcher at the Institute of Art History-Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic and Curator of the collection of glass and ceramics in the National Museum, Prague
- William Newman, professor of the history of science at Indiana University Bloomington
- Pamela H. Smith, professor of history at Columbia University
The catalogue features eight essays, 270 images, and 358 pages.
The Corning Museum of Glass
The Corning Museum of Glass is home to the world’s most comprehensive collection of art and history in glass from all periods and cultures, ranging from ancient Egyptian and Renaissance Venetian masterpieces to contemporary works by such masters as Dale Chihuly and Josiah McElheny, and spanning more than 3500 years of human creation. The Museum’s scientific and technological exhibits—featuring interactive installations, original film footage, and objects such as the first telescope and intricately faceted lighthouse lamps—tell the story of historic advancements and contemporary innovations in glass technology. Collections and exhibitions showcase the history of glass, and public programs provide opportunities for active engagement with the material, bringing glass to life through live glassblowing demonstrations as well as Make Your Own Glass workshops where visitors can create their own work. Housed in a unique collection of award-winning modern glass architecture, the Museum is the centerpiece of the city of Corning, NY, America’s leading center for glass innovation.
The Museum is a leader in education, research, and scholarship for glass. Facilities include a state-of-the-art glassmaking studio that presents a dynamic roster of programs and workshops taught by leading international glass artists. An Artist-in-Residence program gives six artists annually the opportunity to expand their work and to master new techniques. Each artist spends one month utilizing the full resources of the Museum, including The Studio, research facilities, and Museum collection. The Museum also features the Rakow Research Library, the world’s foremost library on the art and history of glass and glassmaking. Two scholarly publications, New Glass Review and Journal of Glass Studies, are published annually by the Museum.
Nestled in the heart of Finger Lakes Wine Country of New York State, the Museum is open daily from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (9:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. in the summer). Children 17 and under receive free admission. The Corning Museum of Glass is conveniently located directly off Exit 46 on I-86/Rte. 17. Corning, NY, is four hours north of New York City, two hours south of Buffalo and six hours north of Washington, D.C.
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