The Armour Archive

Quick toss-out to the hive mind: has anyone seen evidence for everyday glass drinking vessels circa 1300 - 1500 with a distinct blue color? All the surviving examples, when they have a color, appear to be green. The Romans used blue glass, as did the Anglo-Saxons, and there's the odd luxury vessel in the 16th century and later, so I suspect late medieval usage isn't totally beyond the pale- but I have no solid documentation.The reason I'm curious is that there are quite a few antique blown "twist" glasses kicking around eBay that have a nice period profile, but the majority are blue (cobalt in the sand, I gather).

"They also make goblets of purple or light blue" Theophilus "Divers Arts" pg 60 in my Dover CSS Smith translation circa 1120 AD

Thanks- who are "they" to whom he refers?

I assume you will source the source rather relying on hearsay....but "The Byzantines" and so probably an upscale trade item.

The book "Medieval Glass for Popes, Princes, and Peasants" from the Corning Museum of Glass has quite a lot of light blue stuff in it.

Here you go:
http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/1223/1/1223_v1 ... hOS%20(BL)

Cobalt or copper oxide can be used for blue, though it's often limited to decorative trails or threads.

http://www.metmuseum.org/collection/the ... rch/462874


A pale blue one at the Met in the background.
http://ancientglass.wordpress.com/6-gla ... t-the-met/


http://www.christies.com/lotfinder/lot/ ... tails.aspx

Thanks, all! My sense is that blue was not so common as green, but definitely out there. Good enough for off-the-cuff documentation.

Making something fun and exciting Klaus?

Glass-blowing is not in my skill set, unfortunately, but I'm always looking for excuses to upgrade my household collection.

That works too

I need to talk to you at some point about garb, and the cleaning there-of. Is your email still the same?

Yep, same email. Your two partly- finished linen tunics are still in my get-around-to-it pile. I will bump them to the top of the list whenever you are done settling in to your new home and ready to expand your summer wardrobe.

A bit off topic, something I was thinking a while back... I have a small collection of period appropriate glassware. Sometimes I use pieces at home, occasionally take something to an SCA feast, but mostly it sits on display in a hutch because its somewhat expensive, fragile, and often difficult to find replacements.

I was thinking that it would be really cool if there was someone out there making reproduction glassware in plastic/acrylic/resin or whatever... I'd easily spend as much on durable plastic stuff as I have on glass just so I can feel better about using at events.

I just encountered some of those at an event a couple of weeks ago. Something like this…
http://www.williams-sonoma.com/products ... acet-_--_-

Huh, those are nice looking. Kinda pricey, but you'll have that at Williams-Sonoma...

(I sent you an email by the way Klaus, did you see it? My work email has been sending emails on walkabout recently...)

Just replied a few seconds ago.