The 1756 edition of Neri shows women working glass around a lampworking bench. Most translations of this book show men around the table instead. Kunckels, Johann. Glassmacher Kunst.
Say the word “glassblower” and this is the image many people have: hot, sweaty, muscular, male — they don’t realize there is a long tradition of women working in factories and in cottage industries, melting glass using a lamp or torch flame. In an industry that changed the world, skilled women lampworkers dominated the field.
Old-time engravings document women lampworking beads as early as the 1700s. Imagine working in long skirts while pumping the bellows that supplied air to the flame and working molten glass!
Old-time engravings, like this Diderot print, document women making beads by lampworking. Emailleur à la lampe, et peinture en émail, contenant planches simples. 1777.
A century later, factories increasingly employed women in more skilled jobs, and even in some cases preferred their expertise over men’s.
The Corning Museum of Glass has a mission to “inspire people to see glass in a new light.” This is definitely what I needed when, in 2016, I arrived from London as the Museum’s new Curator of European Glass. Typical of most historians and curators of decorative arts and material culture, I had little previous experience of glass and, as I stood in the galleries, looking at the serried ranks of English drinking vessels, I confess I struggled to summon enthusiasm. With the exception of some brightly enameled pieces, it seemed these vessels were intended, by their very clarity and understated design, to be inconspicuous. However, I knew this was an important period in glassmaking; the 18th century was a golden age for the perfection and production of British lead glass or “crystal” (an innovation introduced in the late 1670s that used lead oxide to create a particularly bright and clear glass, with a notable heft). From histories of dining and drinking, I also knew that the contents many of these vessels were intended to hold were not available to everyone. The types of glass most frequently found in museums would have been present only in the wealthiest of households, alongside expensive and desirable materials like silver, porcelain, lacquer, and mahogany. What place, then, did glass hold within the rich material culture of the British elite during this period?
I began to read 18th-century diaries and accounts, scouring the pages for references to glass. Before long, I found myself immersed in the courtesy literature of the period and began to note the common usage and interchangeability of the terms “polite” and “polished” and comparisons between well-polished individuals and a variety of glossy surface finishes. This, in turn, led me away from the more obvious realm of tableware and lighting to technological developments in the production of polished plate glass, used for windows and mirrors, and the transformative effects this type of glass had on architecture, interiors, and sociability. Finally, I began to understand the latent significance of the material during this period and was amazed at how glassy the 18th century really was. Glass, it seemed, symbolized the modernity (for better or for worse) of the British nation.
On March 25, 1911, the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory in New York City caught fire and claimed the lives of 145 workers. Nearly all of these workers were young women. One of the most catastrophic workplace incidents in American history, this tragedy prompted changes to working conditions in factories. Conveniently, in the same year, the United States Bureau of Labor released a report on working conditions in glass factories across the country. The terrible and unsafe conditions that factory workers faced were finally gaining national attention.
This report, which surveyed 190 establishments, indicated that working conditions varied not only from factory to factory but also from room to room. Conditions were very much dependent on where workers were stationed and the type of work they did. The worst factories lacked proper ventilation, washrooms, or temperature control. Most factories consisted of one or two stories only and didn’t require a fire escape, but of the 22 factories that were taller than two stories, only 10 had a fire escape. The report also documents 21 workplace accidents, including a woman who got caught on a grinding belt and died. All of these conditions would make any safety officer shudder today.
Workers in decorating room. 1907. Fenton Art Glass Company Records. CMGL 705025
The 1911 report also provides a peek into what it was like to be a woman working in a glass factory at the turn of the century. Out of the nearly 55,000 people employed in glass factories during this time, 4,000 were women.
The uncertain times we are living in can leave us feeling anxious because people generally prefer having a sense of control and predictability in our lives. Historically, people have comforted themselves during stressful times by carrying a protective amulet. An amulet is an apotropaic object, meaning that it is believed to turn away evil forces. Ancient glass protective eye beads from the collection of The Corning Museum of Glass are examples of this type of object. This kind of dotted glass bead can be made by melting glass in the flame of a torch, winding the molten glass around a wire, and then carefully dabbing various colors of molten glass onto the bead. We now refer to this process as flamework.
Get excited and check the mail, because New Glass Review returns this month for its 43rd issue.
An annual exhibition-in-print, New Glass Review features 100 of the most timely, innovative projects in glass produced during the year. Artworks include sculptures, vessels, installations, and other works in glass by emerging and established artists.
A flagship publication of The Corning Museum of Glass since 1980, New Glass Review is a cyclical reintroduction into the world of contemporary glass and the artists who inhabit it; artists who continually push the boundaries of the material and the limits of their expression.
Following an open call for submissions that receives hundreds of entries every year from countries across the world, New Glass Review is curated by the Museum’s curator of postwar and contemporary glass and a changing panel of guest curators. While the search for the Museum’s next contemporary curator was underway this past summer, Samantha De Tillio was invited to lead the selection process. De Tillo was joined by Davin K. Ebanks, Kim Harty, and Kimberly Thomas.
The Studio’s Amy Schwartz and William (Bill) Gudenrath were honored on Saturday, May 6 in Washington DC with the James Renwick Alliance for Craft (JRA) Distinguished Craft Educator Award for excellence and innovation in education. The biennial award was celebrated at the JRA Spring Craft Weekend with a Symposium, Gala, and Awards Brunch. Recognized for their influence on future artists and significant contributions to American education in the craft field, Amy and Bill’s selection as honorees was the first time in the ceremony’s 20-year history that both makers and educators were honored at the same time.
William (Bill) Gudenrath and Amy Schwartz with their award at the Smithsonian Museum, Washington DC, May 6, 2023. Photo courtesy of the James Renwick Alliance.
Amy and Bill are the latest on a long list of distinguished honorees—the JRA Award has recognized some of the most influential craft artists in American history. This year, the other nominees included ceramic artist, social activist, and spoken word poet Roberto Lugo (the youngest artist to ever receive the Master of the Medium award); furniture maker Kristina Madsen; and curator, quilter, author, art historian, and aerospace engineer Carolyn Mazloomi.
Capping a truly momentous year for glass, The Corning Museum of Glass has achieved a new distinction: being named one of the “7 Glass Wonders of the World.”
The announcement was made during the closing festivities of the United Nations International Year of Glass (IYOG) 2022. The year officially concluded with a Conference and Ceremony at the University of Tokyo, Japan, on December 8-9, which was attended by our very own President and Executive Director Karol Wight. This event was followed by an official debriefing held at the United Nations headquarters in New York City on December 14.
Lino Tagliapietra in the Museum’s Amphitheater Hot Shop, May 13, 2022.
Lino Tagliapietra may be retiring, but not before one final visit to The Corning Museum of Glass. Last weekend was a monumental one for Lino, the glassblowers and staff at the Museum, and all the guests who filled the Amphitheater Hot Shop to see the Maestro at work during what will be his final performance in Corning.
To celebrate Lino’s enduring legacy, we asked those lucky enough to know and work with him, to describe the impact he has made on the glass world. To no surprise, the response was fervent and unanimous: Lino’s impact is, and will always be, extraordinary!
