Egyptian Museum Glass - Handmade Ornaments
Posted by Larry Bristow on
Egyptian glass making in the modern form has been around since the beginning of the 19th century when a resurgence of the art form of glassblowing took place. Egyptian glass making is a highly artistic craft and the techniques are passed down from generation to generation usually from father to son as the profession is mainly limited to men.
Egyptian Museum products are all handmade, mouth-blown in Egypt of Pyrex glass. Their factory imports fine Pyrex as tubes in different textures, sizes, and widths. The Pyrex tubes come in smooth for etching, swirled from the inside, and swirled from the outside. The process begins first with the glassblower, who fires the glass and shapes the various aspects. The fire from his torch heats the glass to almost liquid form using pressurized oxygen to make the glass flexible. He uses several small tools to detail the item.
During this process, he rotates the glass constantly and blows air through it quickly and precisely to achieve the desired shape and look. Next, the engraver or etching artist draws the design on the item and hand etches with a sanding wheel the cuts in the glass. This is how the deep cuts on delicate glass with clear etching or gold etching, or frosted etching are achieved.
After that, the painter applies color by placing it on a spinning wheel to evenly distribute the paint color, which is either luster paint or organic paint, both imported from Germany. Next, the painter applies 24 kt real gold to accent the treasure. After each paint process is complete, the item goes into the oven to bake in the paint and gold. Temperatures range from 550 degrees Fahrenheit for organic paint to 1100 degrees Fahrenheit for luster paint. Also, baking time depends on the type of paint: organic takes 30 minutes and luster up to 1 hour.
Then, the item is left out in the room to cool. Finally, a treasured art form from the past has become an heirloom for the future.