Glass has a long history with some of the earliest traces dating back almost 5,000 years in Mesopotamia, with traces of glass also found in ancient Egypt. Pliny, the ancient Roman writer recorded how a group of Phoenician sailors, who were camped on a beach, woke to find the fire they had left burrning overnight had fused the sand and a material called natron, into glass.
In the first centure BC it was discovered that glass could be blown. Glass was inflated using a hollow pipe allowing different shapes to be created. This has since grown into a real art form (and we have some fantastic examples).
Its thought that a lack of glass is one of the reasons that China never dominated the world in ancient times. With glasses we can read for longer, thus prolonging the useful life of a person and increasing the depth of human knowledge. Glass is also better than ceramics for storage giving longer life to food stuffs.
In the 17th century in England it was discovered that by adding lead oxide to the glass, a brighter, more brilliant, sparkling glass could be produced than existed previously. Lead crystal had been invented. This was softer that other glass and easier to cut or engrave. Starting in 1675, Ireland has a long history of Crystal glass manufacturing and cutting although production has declined in recent times.
Dublin Crystal
are still supplying high quality crystal to the Irish market, we began in 1968 and from our location in Dundrum, Co Dublin, we supply crystal nationwide.