Green Glassware
Though no one quite knows when glass was invented, it’s been around since at least 4000 B.C. Colored glass was known since at least the 14th century B.C., including green glassware. Glassmakers learned to color glass because it was a substitute for gemstones. Museums still have examples of green glass beakers and ribbed bowls that were made in the second half of the 1st century A.D.
Green glass is made when iron oxide and chromium are added to regular soda lime glass. Green glass can also result from additions of chromium mixed with tin oxide and arsenic. Uranium in tiny amounts has also been used to make green glass.
As the centuries went on and glassmaking techniques became more sophisticated, green glass never lost its popularity. Two types of table glass that were popular in Germany in the second half of the 15th century were Maigeleins, which were decorated with ribs or networks and Krautstrunks. They were almost always made of green glass, as were some Romers, which were robust drinking glasses. These glasses were green because it was believed that green glasses were the best vessels for white Rhine wine. The Kuttrolf was a bottle that was often green or greenish, as was the Russelbecher, a beaker that was shaped like two or three rows of hollow claws or elephant trunks. This type of glassware was first seen in the 5th century.
Spain had a number of glassworking regions and many of their green glassware had Moorish influences. This glassware changed little in style from the 15th up to the 19th centuries. The glass was made in all tones and hues of green and was decorated with fibers, chains and shells.By the end of the 16th century, more and more glass was furnace made, but green glassware continued to be favored. Most types of this glassware was based on local medieval tradition, but some were beginning to echo beautiful Venetian glass shapes, like stemmed wine glasses.
Moving forward, one of the most famous examples of green glassware is the traditional Coca Cola “hobble skirt” bottle. Bottles for wine and other liqueurs are also traditionally green. Depression glassware also came in many colors, including many shades of green. Glassware for the bed and bath could be green powder jars, perfume bottles and vanity sets, colognes and puff boxes, lamp bases and shades, night cap and guest sets.
Green, whether lime, emerald, deep green, jade or mint, seems to go exceptionally well with glassware. This means that green glassware will continue to hold on to its centuries old popularity for many centuries to come.