Third Volume Presents Reports and Essays on Chemical Analyses of Early Glasses

The long-awaited final volume of Chemical Analyses of Early Glasses is now available. Authored by Robert H. Brill and Colleen P. Stapleton, this summative third volume completes an in-depth survey of work performed by the Museum’s Scientific Research Department over the last 50 years.

The Scientific Research Department of The Corning Museum of Glass, founded in 1960, pioneered the application of numerous scientific techniques to the examination of historical glass artifacts and to the study of the history of glassmaking. Some of this research has focused on the Museum’s collections, but most of it has been conducted in collaboration with archaeologists and scientists internationally. The Museum’s searchable Scientific Research Database presents selected sources from this scholarship in accessible full-text format, including the first two volumes of Chemical Analyses of Early Glasses.

Volume 3: The Years 2000–2011 contains narrative reports and essays interpreting the data that were published in Volume 1, The Catalogue and Volume 2, The Tables, both in 1999. Seventy-five site reports present detailed analyses of samples, dating from 1500 B.C. to A.D. 1800, provided by institutions in more than 40 countries. Extensive essays discuss analyses of some glasses from Pompeii, the morphology of weathering on ancient glasses, and strontium-isotope studies of historical glasses and related materials. Sample descriptions and tables of data are also included for analyses conducted since the publication of volumes 1 and 2. A comprehensive bibliography, a concordance, and an index of people and places complete volume 3.

Dr. Robert Brill joined the Museum as a research scientist in 1960. He has collaborated with scientists, curators, conservators, and archaeologists the world over, conducting chemical analyses and other scientific investigations of historical glass objects. He has published more than 190 works in various journals and symposia. Chemical Analyses of Early Glasses is his most notable work.

From 1972–1975, Dr. Brill served as director of the Museum, leading its recovery from the disastrous flood of 1972. Since 1962, Dr. Brill has served on the International Commission on Glass (ICG), the world’s leading organization of glass scientists and technologists. He organized their Committee on Archeometry of Glass, dedicated to the scientific study of historical glass and to its conservation. He was chairman of the committee until 2004. That year, he received the ICG’s William E. S. Turner Award. In 1990, he received The Pomerance Award for Scientific Contributions to Archaeology from the Archaeological Institute of America. Dr. Brill retired from the Museum in 2008.

Chemical Analyses of Early Glasses, Volume 3 is available in the Museum’s GlassMarket. Published by The Corning Museum of Glass, 2012. Hardcover, 728 pages, illustrations.