Part1

Read the text and answer the questions below.

A brief history of glassmaking

A The first known glass objects can be traced back to the ancient Eastern empire, in about 3500 BC, building on existing knowledge about glass, a new material, including sand and metal oxides, was developed. This material – glass – was not initially used for small pieces of jewellery and trinkets in small quantities. Then it was used increasingly for vessels made to hold perfume, oil, and fragrances. Transparency was not a characteristic of these works. Of greater interest to the early glass artisans was the ability to reproduce the colour and structure of highly valued semi‑precious stones.

B By about 450 BC, artisans in the glass workshops of the Persian Empire had learned to apply other techniques to glassmaking, probably producing vessels of considerable size on a turning wheel. Cutting techniques were also used for some of these complex decorations. Meanwhile, the Greeks still concentrated their energies on ceramics, and used glass only for coloured inlays in sculpture – especially for magnificent monumental statues in public sites.

C However, in the 1st and 2nd centuries BC, an industry of luxury glass items of various forms developed in former Greek areas strongly influenced by eastern cultures. This industry was said to have had a profound effect on the glass art of the early Roman Empire.

D The rise of the Roman Empire (1st century BC) was accompanied by an increase in glass production in the Mediterranean region. Initially glass retained its status as a luxury material – indeed from the earliest years of its development it had been generally considered equal to precious stones and valuable metals. Coloured glass bowls, mosaic‑glass plates, and glass mosaic with gold decor were very popular with the wealthy. However, as the empire expanded, the shift from luxury to mass production, and from decorative objects to vessels for daily use, were gradually taken.

E The groundwork for the Syrian glassblowers’ discovery at the beginning of the 1st century BC, when melted wet glass, could be made into shapes by blowing down a hollow metal tube. That it became possible for these craftsmen to produce a large variety of vessels for different uses – from simple bottles to more decorative and complex pieces. Starting with the leading Syrian glassblowers, glass as a manufactured product spread across the entire area of Roman rule. With mass production, glass increasingly became a trade item – of no minor importance in convincing the so‑called “barbarians” from the border areas such as Germany of the superiority of Roman civilisation.

F The well‑planned network of roads in the Roman Empire ensured that the new shapes of manufactured glass objects, and the newly developed techniques used to produce them, were quickly spread and adopted. Wherever suitable materials were found, the same or very similar styles of glass vessels, with highly similar qualities, were made. This is true of the Italian peninsula, including Rome itself, where numerous workshops producing high‑quality goods existed, as well as of Spain and along the shores of the Black Sea. Because of their particularly well‑sited sand and large deposits of soda ash, however, the main centres of glass production remained in Syria, Mesopotamia, and Lower Egypt.

G Starting in the 1st century AD, small vials and ampoules in Roman households came to be made predominantly of blown glass, but also of glass moulds. Besides the large number of everyday small vessels for storing fragrances and medicinal extracts, there were now bowls of all kinds – based on the hammer‑beating technique, cameo bowls, plates, lamps and other items. These vessels technically very difficult to produce have been found, such as a playful bottle in the shape of birds or other animals.

H Whereas colour characterised the appearance of early Roman glass – in keeping with the Greek tradition – from the 2nd century AD, the transparency and also lightness of the material as well as its clarity came to be valued more. Usually it was left in its natural state, typical were vessels having a blue‑green colouration of varying intensity. There was, though, an increasing tendency to apply surface details, and a fine coloured accents can be observed. Different coloured glass was also used for simple handles, or the use of two threads or strings of extra glass wrapped around the rim to give emphasis to the vessel’s outline.

I In the late Roman period (3rd and 4th centuries AD) the tendency towards complexity was also reflected in the growing popularity of cut and engraved work. Blowing and the use of moulds were developed in new directions, surpassing the designs of the early period of glass blowing. Later vessels such as the so‑called cage beaker represented a climax in glassmaking of the Late Roman period. Fish and circular objects were blown separately, formed with special tools, and welded onto the walls of simply‑shaped vessels.

J Roman glass art continued to be exemplary, and much of the world famous Venetian glass art from the early 15th century was based on the revival of such methods of thread glass decoration or mosaic glass. In fact, most methods of glassmaking and glass decoration changed very little in the centuries following the Roman Empire. This is true of the development of European glass art, even up to the early 19th century. Until chemistry became an established scientific discipline in the second quarter of that century, glassmaking technology advanced only since improvements. Even now, however, many of the techniques used in the Roman Empire remain a puzzle that modern glass technologists cannot resolve.

Questions 1-6

Choose TRUE if the statement agrees with the information given in the text, choose FALSE if the statement contradicts the information, or choose NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this.

1 By about 450 BC, glass had become as important as ceramics in Greece. ☐ TRUE ☐ FALSE ☐ NOT GIVEN

2 The glassmakers of the early Roman Empire made copies of luxury Greek stones. ☐ TRUE ☐ FALSE ☐ NOT GIVEN

3 With the rise of the Roman Empire, glass objects became more common. ☐ TRUE ☐ FALSE ☐ NOT GIVEN

4 Syrian glassblowers created many different types of objects by blowing glass. ☐ TRUE ☐ FALSE ☐ NOT GIVEN

5 The Roman road network provided a safer way of transporting glass than previous methods. ☐ TRUE ☐ FALSE ☐ NOT GIVEN

6 Roman glass vessels produced in the 1st century AD were restricted to simple designs. ☐ TRUE ☐ FALSE ☐ NOT GIVEN

Questions 7-13

Complete the notes below. Write NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage for each answer.

Developments in glassmaking

2nd century AD

greater emphasis on glass having a 7 ________, lightness and transparency
complex 8 ________ were often added, as well as coloured accents
extra threads of glass used to highlight the 9 ________ of vessels.

Late Roman period

high point of later Roman glassmaking can be seen in containers like the 10 ________

Later developments

from the 15th century, Venetians used old techniques like 11 ________ and thread‑glass decoration
acceptance of 12 ________ as a subject for serious study in the 19th century led to improvements in glassmaking technology
some methods dating back to the Roman Empire continue to be a 13 ________ for today’s glassmakers.