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This paper was
to be presented at the 10th International
Conference on Glass hold in Rhodes (1-4 April
2001), but It has been refused "because it was
dealing with Chinese and not with Greek
glass".
Biliu (li)
is
one of three words meaning
glass
in
Chinese and because glass was made in blue
color for protection, in English and
French
biliu
meant,
finally, blue
colour!
The ground in Buddhist heaven is made of
coloured glass, which shows how much glass was
appreciated. Aristophanes refers to glass as
"stone" and this proves, that before being
manufactured, it, already, existed in nature
as rock and ore. The earliest objects of
man-made glass (from about 1500 BC) originate
from Mesopotamia and Egypt, but also China,
and, it is possible, that China was first in
glass manufacturing and deserves as well this
priority. Researchers wonder, if the early
glass findings of China were imported or local
production and if glass was invented
independently and parallely in East and West
or, did it have a common origin.
In China within remains of Bronze Age kins
were found multicoloured beads of a primitive
kind of glass, while in later graves (mainly
of the 5th c. BC) beads of advanced
technology. Their perfection can only be
explained by a long tradition of glass-making
in China, but, because there are not such
records, they, usually, are referred to as
"imported from the West". It seems, though,
that at least in the 5th c. BC, China, had a
well developed glass industry and the belief,
that the glass objects were made in China, is
strengthened by their shape and use. Many
beads from their form and decoration are
called "eye-beads", in, usually, oval, round
or tube-like shape, from one to three
centimeters and a hole for suspension. Similar
beads were common in Egypt, Mesopotamia,
India, Tibet, even Europe and they are often
refered as "Mediterranean" or
"Egyptian-Roman". They used to wear them
around the neck or the wrist of the hand and
on the belt for decoration, but, mainly, as
amulets for protection of the individual from
evil forces.
The Spectacles of the
Naga
Most of them in
oval or round shape with painted or in relief
decoration, probably, imitate the "spectacles"
of the naga, two "dots" the cobra has on the
back of the head, which resemble eyes and with
symbolic representations of the snake
(circles, spirals, wavy lines, meander, etc.
like on jewels in general) offered ideal
protection. Their usual and predominating
colours were blue, white and yellow.
In 1978 in the unlooted grave of Yi, marquis
of Zeng, in Hubei (the grave was sealed in 432
BC after the burial) about 100 beads were
found, because entire gowns were made with
glass beads (usually multicoloured and with or
without decoration) to accompany the owner to
the grave and secure immortality like
jade.
In 1977 such a gown was also, found in the
grave of a noble lady of te W. Han dynasty
consisting of 600 rectangular and circular
moulded beads with floral and plant decoration
covered with gold leaf. In the 6th c. AD grave
of King Muryong and his wife in Korea near
Seoul were found hundreds of multicoloured
beads in 8 different sizes with hole, which
were sewn together to form a unique gown.
Beads used to accompany in a string (rosary)
monks and laymen during hours of meditation
and prayer ("bead" meaning "prayer" - bede).
Amber beads not only calmed the nerves, but
they also shedded beautiful resine
perfume.
The History of Glass
For producing
glass were absolutely necessary ceramic kilns
and the symbol of the potters and later of the
glass manufacturers was the salamander,
because it was believed that it can survive
high temperatures (its skin diffuses a liquid
that helps) and that even settled in the
fire.
In China in kilns of the Shang dynasty (1600
- 1027 BC) was discovered a kind of primitive
glass, but, officialy, it is refered to glass
from the 6th c.BC (like in Greece) with the
Eastern Zhou (770 - 475 BC), while it reached
high development with the Warring States (475
- 221 BC), with the Western Han (206 BC - 8
AD) and Tang (618 - 907) dynasties.
There is no evidence in written Chinese
sources about this glass, if, for instance, it
was made in China or if it was imported from
the West, ready or as raw material. Texts of
the W. Han dynasty clearly mention imported
glass from the Roman Empire and, also there is
a testimony, that travellers from the West
taught in China in the year 435 glass
manufacturing. Even the words meaning "glass"
in Chinese (like boli) are disputed and
explained of Sanskrit origin. However, the
shape, the decoration and the use of early
Chinese glass items suggest, that they were
manufactured in China. It seems certain that
also this big discovery was accidental and the
Roman Plinius (23-79 AD) tells the story of
Phoenicians, who saw sand and natrium to turn
into glass in a fire.
In China there is information about early
porcelain and bronze, but early use of glass
is absent and it remains unknown to which of
the two hemispheres its discovery must be
attributed.The most ancient examples of
Chinese glass are the multicoloured beads
(colourless glass was later made), which
survived human and natural destructions,
because of their small size. Since at least
the 5th c. BC there was extended glass
manufacturing, but this advanced technology
could be only explained by a long tradition of
more than 2,000 years for which there is no
evidence and the possibility, that this glass
was imported from the West is, therefore,
justified.
In Egypt, glass appears directly in an
advanced form and it is probable that
Pharaohs, like Touthmoses III, brought back
with them after victorious campaigns in Asia
qualified workers, that already knew about
glass manufacturing.
With the Alchemy of the Taoists inorganic
materials of nature mixed together and under
high temperatures produce now glass, which
will mainly imitate jade and it will inherit
its potential to grant immortality.
Solid glass beads, easy to be manufactured,
will be followed by concave items, like cups
and bottles and by the core technique. Mainly,
since 1950 were excavated in many provinces
(like in Hubei, Hunan, Henan and Sichuan)
early glass objects, e.gr. arrows, items for
the decoration of spades, swords and daggers,
belt buckles, bracelets, idols, etc.
Glass will copy shapes of Chinese ceramics,
which do not allow any doubt about the country
of production of the glass and China was
anyway first in manufacturing glass with
barium and lead. Since the 14th c. Poshan in
Northern China will develop into a big center
of glass, because quartz was easy to be found
very near. It was melted in kilns and then in
rods was sent to Peking, where after second
melting were manufactured different items in
many colours.
The center in the South will be Canton, while
since 1800 during the Qing dynasty glass
masterpieces in 30 colours will be as well
produced in the Forbidden city of Peking. From
the W. Han dynasty (about the same time in
Greece) the fused glass will allow mass
production and will diminish the cost.
Producing glass by blowing air into the glass
has been recorded since the 1st c. BC, but
there is evidence that the technique was known
earlier. The man-made glass was either stuck
when warm to the iron rod or was poured liquid
or in powder in moulds before it was put in
the kiln. The natural glass, like rock
crystal, was worked by hand and it was more
difficult to give to the bead, for instance,
the round shape than to make it in a
mould.
Glass was known to the ancient Greeks, but
they did not make extended use up to the
Hellenistic period.
Beads of rock crystal were found in Mycenae,
but bigger objects, (like the cup of
Kakovatos) were, probably, imported, at least
the material, because in the Greek nature
(Crete, Taygetos, etc.) there is no rock
crystal in such big size. On the contrary
there was plenty of obsidian (petrified lava),
especially on the island of Milos and it was
used for weapons and tools.
The Decoration of the
Eye-shaped Bead: The Eye of Knowledge
Precious and
semiprecious stones, diamonds, rubies, lapis
lazuli, jade, agate, coral, in eye-like shape
(oval, almond), will decorate earrings and
rings, horizontally or vertically, in China
and elsewhere, up to today. The shape will
symbolize the snake (the spectacles of the
cobra), the best defense against Evil.
The snake-protector ate the rats, who spread
the cholera, illness which threatened mankind
with extermination. Protection needed the
sensitive and important human eyes and eye
glasses.
Today, the frame and the "arms", have
symbolic snake representation (rombuses,
zig-zag, meander, "metops and triglyphs",
"hearts" - head of the cobra, applique snakes
in relief and "eyes") like on Oackley and
Smith eye glasses or imitate snake skin in
fish scale design, while the "eagle" of the
Armani glasses is in fact a winged snake
(inside the Acropolis Museum one of four big
stone snakes, the "Triton", has wings).
Similar patterns will decorate fabrics and
belts, while athletic shoes (Nike, Adidas,
Intern and Star) are, also, decorated with
"eyes" and who knows what kind of mechanism
preserved in a world scale these superstitious
designs, which have copied the same up to
now.
In the movie "Magtub, the Law of the desert"
Omar Sarif as emir of a desert tribe in Maroco
wears a big vertical "eye" of gold and
precious stone on his headdress (the eye of
knowledge).
In Malta, following the ancient Chinese,
Greek, and Etruscan tradition, painted "eyes"
are indispensable on the prow of boats and
ships. Besides, in Malta "eyes" in relief are
hung on the wall of the rooms and big "eyes"
are built on the façade houses.
With this "eye" ("an eye for an eye") the
Evil eye will be knocked down. Certain beads
have conical decoration in relief, usually, 6
cones with painted or incised concetric
circles (usually 5 parallel circles), which
resemble the "breasted" ewers of Santorini,
but, also Chinese vases of the same period or
even older ones.
These conical protuberances imitate, most
probably, the "horn" on the head of certain
cobras, while the so-called "heart" (emblem of
the Medical Center of Athens) symbolized the
head of the cobra and averted Evil like the
"horn". The spirals of the Ionic style capital
are formed by coiled snakes (not by the horns
of the ram) and in the Museum of Siphnos two
snakes are to be clearly distinguished on a
votive capital. The protuberance-eye in the
center of the spiral was painted blue (like on
the capital of the Athenian Agora), while the
"hole" - eye of the Aeolian capital was filled
with lapis lazuli.
The Heavenly Eye-beads of
Tibet
Their name is due
to the belief that Gods left them fall from
the skies. Most of them are tube-like,
elongated beads (few are sphaerical), in black
or red colour and, usually, made of clay or
agate. Agate was one of the stones (like lapis
lazuli, amber, jade, etc.), that could keep
Evil away and a kind of agate is called
"eye-stone"- opthalmolithos, because from its
nature has in the center an almond-like or
round "eye", something that explains why most
heavenly beads were made with this stone. In
Tibet they were known before Buddhism and they
were worn as amulets with supernatural and
magical forces, warding off Evil, bringing
health and wealth, good fortune and peace.
They strengthened the metabolism (it is
believed even today that they help lose
weight) and the blood circulation. They have,
usually, from two to nine "eyes" and their
value depends on the number of eyes.
The ancient, original ones, are considered to
be about 1300 years old and Museums offer
astronomical prices in order to obtain them.
The Tibetans appreciate and respect very much
these beads, because they believe that they
originate from living organisms, when Tibet
was, millions of years ago, in the bottom of
the sea and they still present them to the
Buddha.
The Beads of the
Vikings: The Compass and the Marbles
The Vikings, like
the Chinese were fond of lucky games and they
used glass, multicolored beads with patterns
against Evil (spirals, wave lines, circles,
etc.) as dice. Unrivaled navigators, that went
to America 500 years before Colombus, for
sure, like the Phoenitians, they had to travel
for their commerce up to China. They named
their ships "dracar" from the monsters that
decorated their praw, like on the Dragon boats
of China and this way is explained their
advanced astronomical knowledge, absolutely
necessary for the navigation. It must be
therefore not true that they ignored the
compass and on a 11th c. wooden tablet from
Dublin an incised representation of a ship has
above the central mast a fish. It is known
that in the steppes and China the compass had
at first the shape of a fish and as a compass
must be explained the fish on the praw of
Greek neolithic "frying pans" (in this case
the use of the compass at sea is thousands of
years earlier).
The raw material for the beads the Vikings
did not manufacture themselves, but for
producing glass they imported glass dice from
W. Europe (N. Italy) and they also recycled
broken glass objects. Well known glass
producing center (besides Ribe in Jutland and
Paviken in Gotland) was the ancient city Birka
in Sweden, commercial center of Scandinavian
and Baltic countries. Glass was melted in
funnels, it came out in strips and yet soft
was wound around iron rods, while after second
melting it was poured into moulds. With
similar glass beads like those of the lucky
games of the Vikings used to play on the
street Greek kids.
In Steven Spillberg's movie "The Empire of
the Sun" boys play marbles in a Japanese
concentration camp. Their name in Greek was
"yialinakia", "boloi" and "gazes" - "marbles",
small glass beads and one big, called "mana" -
mother (the poor kids had clay beads). In
small pits on the ground they used to throw in
from far as many beads as possible, a kind of
"billiards" (the Italian word "biglia" is,
possibly the Chinese word "biliu(li)", which,
also means "glass", while Dr. R. Brill of the
Corning Museum of Glass is of the opinion that
the Greek word "bolos" - bead is the Chinese
one "boli" - glass).
Renowned are as well the glass beads of the
Etruscans, which like the "smile", the
ceramics, the antefix, the bronze vessels,
etc., connect this enigmatic people with
China. Early beads of Japan and early glass of
Korea also originate in China.
The Blue Color of
the Glass
A third Chinese
word for "glass" is "liuli", which exactly
means a blue-green glaze, from a plant of
India, indigo. Indigo in Chinese is called
"Ian" and it is possibly the syllable "lan-"
of the Greek word "galanos"-blue and it was
used ("loulaki" in Greek) as a whitening in
washing, while "loulaki" means the color blue.
It was the first color that did not exist in
nature and had to be manufactured. In the
peninsula of Sinai the Egyptians since 4,000
BC mined lapis lazuli (turquoise) at Malkat,
which will be a second name to lapis lazuli.
The name "turquoise" is due to Turkestan,
where this stone is still mined and its best
variation, today, comes from Ispahan in
Iran.
The plant "indigo", lapis lazuli in powder,
bronze and cobalt from Afghanistan were used
to make the blue color. The color blue the
Chinese distinguish in blue of the sea, of the
lake, of the sky, of the peacock and in cobalt
blue. To this color will be attributed magical
powers and it was believed that the length of
its wave and its radiation were able to keep
Evil away.
On the Santorini murals heads of children are
partially painted, turquoise-blue, something
also common in China.
In Egypt, today, in the Arab villages of
Israel, in Northern Africa, the walls of
houses are painted blue, so that mosquitoes
and flies will not enter. In ancient Greek
architecture one of four primary colours was
turquoise-blue and in that colour are painted
the doors and windows of the Cyclades.
The same blue colour was given to the glass
for protection, not to break, and, it seems,
that the name of the glass "biliu(li)",
finally, meant in English and French not only
the glass, but also the colour "blue".
Famous, today, is the blue glass of the
Arabs, but about 900 Arabs had settled in
Southern China (Canton), where besides
Astronomy, Mathematics, Shipbuilding and
Navigation they, possibly, learned how to make
the blue glass and yet, finally, better than
their masters.
Important center of fused glass was founded
in Malta, when the Arabs settled, in 870. The
traditional location, today, about 10 kil.
from the capital Valletta, is called "Ta
Quali" ("ta" means "to"), but nobody has
thought to link the word "quali" to the Greek
word "ualos" - glass. In modern Greek a - y
was added (yuali) in the beginning of the word
like in uios-yuios, while in Arabic a - q (the
-u is pronounced -u in tripa-troupa). Today,
in Maltese is used a different word for
"glass", but the word "ualos" survived on the
small hill of Malta and offers its testimony
to the history of glass. The Arab word
"quali", probably, is a Chinese loan and,
moreover, the Greek word "ualos" was in use in
China, at the time the Arabs learned there how
to make glass. The Latin word "vitrum", which
meant "glass", originally was the name of a
plant (with its leaves a dye was made similar
to the indigo, called "pastel"). The English
name of the plant is "woad" and the Bretons,
invincible warriors, used it to paint blue
their faces before the battle.
Mirrors and the
Winthrop Mirror
Written sources do
not agree if the handsome youth Narcissus saw
his figure in the water of a fountain or of a
river, it seems, certain though, that man saw
his own image for the first time reflected on
the still water surface. The early Emperors of
China used as a mirror big clay and bronze
vessels with water. In Greece, since Mycenean
times used hand mirrors made of shining
metallic surface like of silver and bronze
with wood or ivory handle, which, according to
Mythology, were invented and forged by
Hephaestus.
The usual diameter of the disc was 15-20
cent. and on the outer side was decorated with
designs, painted, incised or in relief. It is
believed, that the inner front surface was
very shiny and reflected the image, but it is
also possible that this side had, already at
that time, a second disc of glass coated with
silver and tin like, today, on the famous hand
mirrors of popular art of Ioannina, where the
glass disc is applied on the silver one and is
kept in place by metallic hooks.
The possibility that metallic mirrors also
had glass disc is strengthened by the famours
Winthrop mirror, a rare item of about 400 BC
(diameter 12,3 cent.), today, in the Fogg Art
Museum, MA. It was found in a royal grave in
Hunan province, where once flourished the
mighty and rich Chu Kingdom. The back surface
of the bronze disc is decorated with applied
eye-shaped glass beads. Some of them surround
a ring of jade in the center with "rope"
decoration and most of them are surrounded by
a jade ring. Similar rings are known from
elsewhere and they even have head and tail of
a snake like the dragon-pendant of the Warring
States period in the Asian Art Museum of San
Francisco (Coll. Alan Feen) and do not allow
any doubt about the symbolism of the
rings.
As regards the combination of glass and jade
on the same object is unique. Besides a big
bead, which is surrounded by 7 smaller ones
and all of them together form a "rosette" -
lotus flower in the center, the disc is
decorated with 30 more multicolore beads in
two circles of 18 and 12. Seen that the
eye-shaped bead had the power to keep Evil
away and taking into consideration the fact
that it decorated glass artefacts like belt
buckles, cups, etc., so that they will not
break, it seems probable that this mirror had
attached a second glass disc.
The mythical Chinese Yellow Emperor had
ordered his craftsmen to manufacture 12
mirrors for him, one for every month of the
year, but there is no information about the
material, that they were made.
Mirrors reflected as well the social level of
the owner and they were indispensable in the
dowery of the bride. In the grave of a
concubine of the last king of the Shang
dynasty mirrors were found for the first
time.
The Palace Museum of Taiwan numbers about 150
ancient mirrors, most of them from Continental
China. Mainly bronze hand mirrors, but also
for the table, mostly circular but also square
(Heaven and Earth) have the back side
beautifully decorated and many have in the
center of the back a hook attached for a
string to be hung. It is believed, that in
China the first glass mirrors were
manufactured towards the end of the Qing
dynasty (1694-1911) and in Europe about 1900.
In Versailles mirrors on the wall (Galerie des
glaces) contributed to the splendour of the
Palace.
Roman and Venetian
Glass
Important glass
production in China is documented in the W.
Han dynasty, when at the same time centers of
glass production flourish in Europe and in the
Eastern Mediterranean and Persia. Glass
objects of this period, found in China, after
chemical analysis seem to be rather imported
from the West and products of workshops of the
Romans and of the Sassanids, which came to
China mainly from the sea, but, also, over the
land Silk Route.
Rome and after that Byzantium the Chinese
will call "Da Qin", "the big kingdom of Qin"
(Qin being the richest and most powerful of
nine kingdoms, whose king, the famous Qin Shi
Huang "united" China by conquering all other
kingdoms and took the name of the first
"Emperor").
The W. Han dynasty was in constant
communication with Rome and the Roman glass,
superior to any other earlier glass, will be
imported into China and will be exchanged with
gold and silk. The Roman legions will bring
the Roman glass to Germany, France,
Netherlands and Britain.
The mass production of glass was delayed
because high temperatures (1800C) were
required for melting the quartz. Later, it was
melted in lower temperatures (today only
1000C) by adding potash or sodium carbonate,
and the glass was first put then in an oven of
400C to cool off, gradually, and to avoid
breaking.
For creating a glass center, besides sand,
was necessary extended woods for the kiln.
Venice, whose the strong relations with China
are symbolized by Marco Polo, disposed not
only plenty of sand from the salt lakes, but
also a lot of timber and it soon became an
important glass center (Murano). In spite of
the fact that the secrets of glass production
were well protected (the penalty was death for
those, that could not keep their mouth shut),
it will be spread from Venice to Bohemia, and,
later Czeckoslovakia, England and America will
also rise into famous glass centers.
But the shape and decoration of the glass
products of Venice bring them in contact with
China. Glass vessels have stems and handles in
the shape of snakes, horizontal lines around
the neck, where, usually, the snake was
symbolized, herring and zig-zag decoration,
rombuses, meander, spirals and the head of the
cobra, which is explained as "heart" of "lotus
leaf".
Vessel in the shape of lotus flower from
Persia in the Corning Museum of Glass brings
again China in mind as shapes of vessels
inspired from the lotus flower had long
tradition in China in the Palace and the
Temple, like the renowned gold bowl of the
Kypselids, today in Boston in the Museum of
Fine Arts.
The indirect approach of the history of glass
regards the shape and the decoration of
certain objects like the small flasc-pendant
of 1,500 BC from Mesopotamia, usual shape of
Chinese vessels' ( a similar one was found on
Santorini). Also glass of oil lamps, in the
form of a gourd, resembles the "twin vases" of
China (known also from Troy) in two horizontal
or vertical levels, which symbolize the
Yin-Yang (Positive-Negative).
It is possible, that the colored glass of
Byzantine and Gothic Architecture, the glass
of the windows of houses, the murals, icons
and floors in mosaic have been, originally,
achieved in China.
Glass Museum in
Rhodes
Today, besides the
famous Museum of Glass at Corning, N.Y., where
a long glass industry, and the recently
inaugurated Grand Crystal Museum of Taiwan,
Glass Museums have Germany, Italy and
Czechoslovakia.
Greece has unique items of natural and
man-made glass, which could form the nucleus
of a Glass Museum, probably in Rhodes, which
had important glass production in the
Hellenistic period. Moreover, Rhodes is the
island, which hosted in the year 2001 the 10th
International Glass Conference, and where
lovers of this wonderful material came from
all over the World.
Eye-Shaped and
Horned Glass Beads from Greece and
China
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