We go contained in the thoughts of George F. Manska for a have a look at the historical past of stemmed glassware.
As a bartender, you serve many drinks day by day in stemmed glassware. Did you ever surprise how stems got here to be? Here’s a brief historical past which is able to shed a unique gentle on how stemmed glassware grew to become modern all through Europe, Russia Nice Britain and its colonies. In step with our subject of sensory analysis, this text is all about visible esthetics.
Human devised consuming vessels are as previous as man himself, with early variations customary of cupped palms, folded leaves, coconut shells, animal skulls, seashells, bamboo, carved wooden, gourds, animal horns, bark and pitch, or any variety of frequent, pure supplies that might maintain liquid. There are lots of on-line sources relating to the event and evolution of consuming vessels, however glass is the fabric mostly in use right this moment, and there’s a not-so-apparent purpose that stems grew to become common on wine and spirits glasses.
Brief Historical past of Man-Made Glass: Man-made glass was first created in a number of areas; Syria, Mesopotamia, and Egypt, in all probability round 3600 years BCE within the type of beads customary from sodium carbonate. Glassmaking expertise flourished within the bronze age, (3300-1200 BCE), and the favored manufacturing technique was wrapping a molten, ductile wire of glass round a preformed sand form. In a while, the glass maker’s most well-liked form was tediously floor from a chilly hunk or glob of glass into its desired form.
Manufacturing strategies and formulation for glass had been guarded secrets and techniques of the ancients, with Syria and Cyprus the origin of colorless glass across the ninth century BCE. Later civilizations noticed the consuming vessel as a severely expressive artwork type mixed with a helpful goal, and magnificence and ornament grew to become an necessary a part of glass manufacturing. Early Egyptians found that quartz may very well be crushed right into a nice powder, blended with plant ash, and forged into ingots for future melting and shaping by skilled artisans.
The Greeks, nonetheless, relied on pottery as their consuming vessel materials of alternative, and these first items had been formed as a really broad, shallow bowl with a pedestal base. Many shape-names akin to Komast, Krater, Siana “cups” exhibited bases, together with the primary look of that connector to the bottom later known as a stem.
Within the thirteenth century AD, Venice, notably the island of Murano grew to become the middle for nice glassware to the royal homes of Europe. Pure crystal pebbles had been gathered from two rivers, the Ticino and Adige, and examined for top readability, freed from veins and cracks, and their capability to “spark” when struck. This glass required very excessive melting temperatures and needed to be shaped rapidly to its desired form. Peaking within the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, Murano cristallo artisans lengthened pedestals to permit a grip of at the very least a thumb and two fingers, and possibly just a few bumps or ribs to enhance grip, resembling the stemmed glassware in use right this moment. Very costly and cost-prohibitive to the lots, Murano glass was the selection of royal tables all through Europe and Russia, and was the most costly glass produced anyplace on the earth.
What’s the perform of stems? Think about giant candle-lit halls with lengthy eating room tables capable of sit 60-plus friends for dinner. Lighting was by candle, and along with giant overhead chandeliers, enormous candelabras had been positioned at particular intervals all alongside the desk, in addition to mirrors and candle sconces on the partitions to brighten the room. With out electrical lighting, rooms had been dimly lit, and inventive methods to enhance the lighting from candles was explored in depth. Quickly it grew to become obvious that nice wines and spirits may additional improve atmosphere if stems had been taller to catch extra candlelight. On the similar time, with a little bit care in dealing with, greasy fingerprints may very well be confined to the stem, contributing to the great thing about a crammed glass. Murano glass sparkles with tiny rainbows on the edge of every aspect when reduce and extremely polished, because it has a really excessive index of refraction, prismatically bending gentle rays to create tiny rainbows and glowing stars. Stemmed Murano glassware was the signal of a really rich family, and profitable businessmen and authorities officers bought Murano glass to emulate the royals.
The Recreation Changer: In the meantime, again in Merrie Olde England, George Ravenscroft (1632-1683), who had developed a worthwhile commerce in Venetian glass, began his personal glass manufacturing facility utilizing the little-used Italian strategy of including lead oxide to glass to resolving its crinkling impact. Patented by King Charles in 1674, leaded crystal allowed decrease glass melting temperatures utilizing native coal as an alternative of expensive, imported European high-temperature, laborious coal. Leaded crystal additionally displays spectacular gentle show as a consequence of its excessive refractive index, which is important to create prismatic rainbows, and the working time is vastly elevated, permitting intricate shaping, design, ornament, and naturally, longer, extra ornate stems.
Leaded crystal was extraordinarily inexpensive, with little distinction in look from Venetian glass (to these not so near the trade). The status-seeking center and enterprise lessons grew to become consumers of inexpensive leaded crystal, and George Ravenscroft is credited with the invention of Georgian glass which refers back to the lovely, long-stemmed ornately adorned glass common within the late seventeenth century to the tip of the 18th century, and named for Kings George I, II, and III. Right this moment, in fashionable lighting situations, stems nonetheless exude a sure magnificence, and conveniently nonetheless maintain fingerprint smears off the bowl, preserving the pristine ruby look of a nice classic claret in a beautiful vessel on the night gala
Leaded glass recognition didn’t final, and lots of nations have banned its use (together with USA) as a consequence of lead poisoning, as lead leaches out of decanters and glassware to seek out its method into the physique inflicting all kinds of illnesses. Nevertheless, German, and jap European glass producers (Riedel, Spiegelau, Schott-Zweissel, Stolzle, Rona, and lots of others have distinguished themselves with strengthening components, distinctive stem-pulling strategies, crystalline glass materials, and different enhancements to make sure the custom of the stem continues. Will it ever die? Definitely not within the close to future, and a few manufactures provide stems of 12” or extra. Spectacular to say the least.
In abstract, the discoveries of leaded crystal made the coveted stemmed designs most well-liked by royalty and the rich a typical, inexpensive model of glassware for all, cementing the stem as a most well-liked model amongst right this moment’s wine and spirits drinkers. At Arsilica, Inc. house of the NEAT glass, we love and prioritize science, invention, artwork, and historical past in that order, and try to know and relate the truths in all. In science, type follows perform, invention springs from wants, artwork is the materialization of the artistic thoughts, and sadly, historical past is normally (re)written by the winners.
