History of Glass Timeline

(c. 3500 BCE–Present)

The history of glass traces the material’s development from early molded objects and beads to advanced architectural, artistic, scientific, and technological applications. More Less

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Ancient glassmaking

Early glass lump found at Eridu

2100 BCE

A lump of glass found at Eridu in Iraq dates to the twenty-first century BCE or earlier. It was produced during the Akkadian Empire or the early Ur III period, providing some of the earliest evidence for glass manufacture.

Persian glass beads appear

1600 BCE

The earliest known Persian glass appears as beads from the late Bronze Age. These objects were discovered during excavations at Dinkhah Tepe in Iran by Charles Burney.

Image source: History of glass

Glass bottle fragment found at Büklükale

1600 BCE

A fragment of a glass bottle from Büklükale in central Turkey has been estimated to be about 1600 BCE old, documenting early glass use in Anatolia.

Extensive glass production spreads across Western Asia

1500 BCE

By the fifteenth century BCE, extensive glass production was occurring in Western Asia, Crete, and Egypt. A Mycenaean Greek Linear B term for workers of lapis lazuli and glass is also attested from this period.

Glassmaking crucible used at Alalakh

1400 BCE

A glassmaking crucible discovered at Alalakh in the Amuq Valley of Turkey during excavations from 2011 to 2014 provides evidence of early glass production. Its material is contemporary with, or possibly slightly earlier than, fourteenth-century BCE Egyptian glass.

Glassmaking techniques revive in Syria and Cyprus

900 BCE

Glass production picked up again in its former centers in Syria and Cyprus during the ninth century BCE. Techniques for making colorless glass were discovered during this revival.

Glass blowing is developed on the Syro-Judean coast

50 BCE

During the first century BCE, glass blowing was discovered on the Syro-Judean coast. The technique revolutionized glass production by allowing vessels to be formed rapidly and economically.

Image source: Glassblowing

Roman glassblowing expands the industry

1 CE

During the first century CE, the Roman glass industry underwent rapid technical growth, including the introduction of glass blowing and the increasing dominance of colorless or aqua glass.

Image source: Roman glass

Alexandria enables large-scale Roman glass production

100 CE

Raw glass was produced in locations separate from workshops that made finished vessels. By the end of the first century CE, large-scale manufacturing, especially in Alexandria, made glass commonly available throughout the Roman world.

Regional traditions

Glass bead appears at Harappa

1700 BCE

The earliest glass item known from the Indus Valley civilization is a brown glass bead discovered at Harappa and dated to approximately 1700 BCE.

Kopia becomes an early Indian glassmaking site

700 BCE - 200 CE

Kopia in Uttar Pradesh became the first identified Indian site to manufacture glass locally. Its glass objects date from the seventh century BCE to the second century CE.

Glass objects appear in early China

500 BCE

Imported glass objects first reached China during the late Spring and Autumn period, in the early fifth century BCE. They included polychrome eye beads.

Glass objects appear at Beed, Sirkap, and Sirsukh

500 BCE

Glass objects found at Beed, Sirkap, and Sirsukh date to around the fifth century BCE, showing the spread of glass use across South Asia.

Taxila becomes a major glass-use center

300 BCE

The ruins of Taxila contain the earliest unmistakable evidence for widespread glass usage in the region. Large quantities of bangles, beads, small vessels, and tiles date to the third century BCE.

Glass is used for ornaments in South Asia

1 CE

By the first century CE, glass was being used in South Asia for ornaments and casing, marking a broader integration of glass into craft production and personal decoration.

South Asian glassworking techniques expand

100 CE - 500 CE

Contact with the Greco-Roman world introduced newer techniques to South Asia. Indian artisans subsequently mastered glass molding, decorating, and coloring.

Lead-barium glass production declines in China

220 CE

At the end of the Han Dynasty in approximately 220 CE, China's lead-barium glass tradition declined. Glass production resumed there during the fourth and fifth centuries.

Roman departure changes glass use in Britain

400 CE

The Roman departure from Britain in the fifth century brought considerable changes in the use of glass. Romano-British sites contain abundant glass, while later Anglo-Saxon sites yielded far less.

Glass becomes scarce in early Anglo-Saxon burials

450 CE - 700 CE

Most complete vessels and bead assemblages from early Anglo-Saxon Britain come from cemetery excavations. Changing burial rites in the late seventh century reduced grave goods, making glass rarer in archaeological contexts.

Glass manufacture is mentioned in fifth-century sources

500 CE

Literary sources from the fifth century CE mention the manufacture of glass, documenting the continuation and recognition of glassmaking traditions after late antiquity.

Window glass becomes more common in Anglo-Saxon Britain

700 CE

From the late seventh century onward, window glass appears more frequently in Britain, reflecting changing architectural and religious practices.

Glassmaking evidence appears at Igbo Olokun

1000 CE - 1500 CE

Excavations at Igbo Olokun in northern Ife uncovered large quantities of glass beads, crucibles, and production debris dating from the eleventh to fifteenth centuries CE.

European innovation

Glass objects appear at Torcello

650 CE - 800 CE

Glass objects dating from the seventh and eighth centuries have been found on Torcello near Venice, indicating early glassworking and trade in the Venetian lagoon.

Sheet glassmaking develops in Germany

1000 CE - 1100 CE

The eleventh century saw the emergence in Germany of new methods for making sheet glass by blowing spheres, an important step in architectural glass production.

Potash glass replaces soda glass in Northern Europe

1000 CE

Around 1000 AD, northern European glassmakers replaced soda glass made from white pebbles and burnt vegetation with glass made using potash obtained from wood ashes, a more readily available material.

Stained glass becomes an important artistic medium

1100 CE - 1300 CE

Stained glass was not widely used until the twelfth century. It then rapidly became an important medium for Romanesque and especially Gothic art.

Image source: Stained glass

Bohemian glassmaking sites are established

1250 CE

The oldest archaeological excavations of Bohemian glassmaking sites date to around 1250 in the Lusatian Mountains of northern Bohemia. Bohemian glass developed into a major decorative glass tradition.

Venice orders glassmakers to move to Murano

1291 CE

In 1291, the Venetian Republic ordered glassmakers to move their furnaces to Murano because of fears that fires could destroy Venice's predominantly wooden buildings. Murano subsequently became a center of luxury glassmaking.

Sheet-glass blowing is perfected in Venice

1300 CE

The German sphere-blowing technique for making sheet glass was perfected in thirteenth-century Venice, strengthening the city's role in European glass production.

Murano becomes a luxury glassmaking center

1300 CE - 1500 CE

From the fourteenth century, Murano became the center of luxury Italian glassmaking. Its workshops developed new techniques and exported dinnerware, mirrors, and other products.

Caspar Lehmann adapts gem engraving to glass

1600 CE

In the seventeenth century, Caspar Lehmann, gem cutter to Emperor Rudolf II in Prague, adapted gem engraving techniques using copper and bronze wheels to glass.

Bohemian glass flourishes in the Baroque style

1685 CE - 1750 CE

Bohemian glass was especially distinguished by its production in the high Baroque style from 1685 to 1750, reinforcing the region's reputation for decorative glass.

Industrial production

Blown plate glass is used in London

1620 CE

Evidence of blown plate glass production dates to 1620 in London. The method was used especially for mirrors and coach plates.

Ravenscroft develops clear lead crystal

1674 CE

George Ravenscroft first developed the process for producing clear lead crystal glassware on an industrial scale in 1674. His resources helped transform the English glass trade.

Cast polished plate glass is perfected in France

1688 CE

Louis Lucas de Nehou and A. Thevart perfected the process of casting polished plate glass in France in 1688.

England expands flint-glass production

1696 CE - 1746 CE

After Ravenscroft's patent expired, twenty-seven English glasshouses were producing flint glass by 1696 and exporting it across Europe. The success led the British government to impose a tax in 1746.

Ravenhead adopts cast plate glass production

1773 CE

The French cast polished plate-glass method was adopted by English manufacturers at Ravenhead in 1773.

Steam power industrializes glass polishing

1800 CE

Around 1800, the polishing of cast glass was industrialized through the adoption of a steam engine to perform grinding and polishing.

Glassmaking automation is patented in Britain

1821 CE - 1848 CE

Early advances in automating glass manufacture were patented by Henry Ricketts in 1821 and by engineer Henry Bessemer in 1848.

British Crown Glass Company adopts cylinder production

1832 CE

In 1832, the British Crown Glass Company, later Chance Brothers, became the first company to adopt the cylinder method for producing sheet glass, using the expertise of French glassmaker Georges Bontemps.

Bessemer introduces an early float-glass process

1843 CE

In 1843, Henry Bessemer introduced an early form of float glass by pouring molten glass onto liquid tin, anticipating the later commercially successful float process.

Image source: Float glass

Bessemer introduces an early float-glass process

Rolled plate glass is introduced

1847 CE

James Hartley introduced the rolled plate method in 1847, providing another industrial technique for forming sheet and plate glass.

The Crystal Palace showcases glass architecture

1851 CE

The Crystal Palace, designed by Joseph Paxton for the Great Exhibition of 1851, heralded the use of glass as a major building material.

Image source: The Crystal Palace

Ashley develops mass-produced glass

1887 CE

In 1887, the firm Ashley in Castleford, Yorkshire, developed mass production of glass, marking a significant advance in industrial output.

Chance Brothers introduces machine-rolled patterned glass

1888 CE

Chance Brothers introduced the machine-rolled patterned glass method in 1888, expanding the possibilities for decorative and architectural sheet glass.

Pilkington invents wired cast glass

1898 CE

Pilkington invented wired cast glass in 1898 by incorporating a strong steel-wire mesh into the glass for safety and security. It was manufactured under licence in the United Kingdom from 1910.

Polished plate production is improved

1938 CE

In 1938, Pilkington improved the polished plate process by incorporating double grinding, producing a higher-quality finished surface.

Pilkington develops commercial float glass

1953 CE - 1957 CE

Between 1953 and 1957, Sir Alastair Pilkington and Kenneth Bickerstaff developed the first successful commercial float-glass process. Molten glass flowed continuously over a bath of molten tin, forming a level ribbon under gravity.

Float glass achieves profitable full-scale sales

1960 CE

Full-scale profitable sales of float glass were first achieved in 1960, establishing the process as the dominant modern method for producing high-quality flat glass.

Key Facts

The earliest known glass objects, including beads and small vessels, appeared in Mesopotamia and Egypt around the second millennium BCE.
Ancient Egyptians developed colored glass for jewelry, amulets, and decorative objects.
The invention of glassblowing in the eastern Mediterranean during the first century BCE made glass vessels faster and cheaper to produce.
Roman craftsmen expanded glass production across the empire and popularized transparent vessels, windows, and intricate decorative techniques.
Modern glass supports major industries, including construction, optics, telecommunications, laboratory science, electronics, and fiber-optic communication.

Source

This History of Glass timeline was generated with the help of AI, using information found on the internet.

We work hard to keep these timelines accurate, but mistakes do get through. If you spot one, email us at [email protected] and we'll fix it for future visitors.

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