[PA-NJ Glassblowers] Largest-Ever Exhibition of Mold-Blown Glass from Ancient Rome to Open at The Corning Museum of Glass

Tony Patti gaffer at glassblower.info
Tue May 12 23:30:14 EDT 2015


Today I received the press release below from Kim Thompson at CMOG about
this awesome CMOG exhibition about ancient mold-blown glass!

 

You may recall that on March 29 I wrote of the mold-blown pieces then being
exhibited (through April) at the Metropolitan Museum of Art which stated
"Ennion made me".

 

Enjoy,
Tony Patti

 <http://www.glassblower.info> www.glassblower.info

 <mailto:gaffer at glassblower.info> gaffer at glassblower.info

 

 
<http://d3seu6qyu1a8jw.cloudfront.net/sites/default/files/images/CMoG%20Stac
ked%20_10-1-14%20BlK%20Type%20WhtBrd.jpg> 


Largest-Ever Exhibition of Mold-Blown Glass from Ancient Rome to Open at The
Corning Museum of Glass


 Cup, Ennion, Syria, Northern Italy, Palestine, 25-75. 66.1.36.
<http://d3seu6qyu1a8jw.cloudfront.net/sites/default/files/styles/6_column/pu
blic/images/66.1.36_view3_RGB-apd_srgb.jpg>  Ewer, Ennion, possibly
Palestine, probably Syria, 25-75. 59.1.76.
<http://d3seu6qyu1a8jw.cloudfront.net/sites/default/files/images/59.1.76_vie
w1_RGB-apd_srgb_0.jpg>  Mold, possibly Iraq, possibly Iran, 800-999. 80.7.3.
<http://d3seu6qyu1a8jw.cloudfront.net/sites/default/files/styles/6_column/pu
blic/images/80.7.3%20view%201_RGB-apd_srgb.jpg> 

CORNING, NY, May 12-This Saturday, The Corning Museum of Glass (CMoG) will
open the largest exhibition to date devoted to ancient mold-blown glass.
<http://www.cmog.org/collection/exhibitions/ennion> Ennion and his Legacy:
Mold-Blown Glass from Ancient Rome, which runs through January 4, 2016, will
explore the diversity of Roman mold-blown glass-in size, shape, and
decoration-which was traded across the Mediterranean world. The vessels
share a glimpse into the richness of life in the Roman times, from religion
and mythology to celebrity culture surrounding gladiators and Roman
empresses. 129 works, including highlights from CMoG's unparalleled
collection of ancient glass, along with loans from other international
museums and collections, will be on view.

Embedded within the exhibit is a smaller exhibit organized by the
Metropolitan Museum of Art, Ennion: Master of Glass, which brings together
24 of the 50 known, still-surviving works by Ennion, a glass artists who
transformed the industry, as the first glass artists to sign his works. This
part of the exhibit will be on view through October.

"The Corning Museum of Glass is home to the most comprehensive collection of
Roman glass in the world, allowing us to tell this important story of
innovation and entrepreneurship in the ancient world," said CMoG president
and executive director Dr. Karol Wight, exhibition curator and ancient glass
scholar. "The iconography depicted on these pieces reveals what was
important in popular culture in the ancient world-from the gods to favorite
gladiators."

The use of molds in glassmaking was introduced at the end of the first
century B.C., shortly after the introduction of glassblowing-a revolutionary
breakthrough that made the production of vessels faster and simpler. Molds,
which had been used to shape ceramic and metal objects, were quickly adapted
for glassblowing and enabled quicker manufacturing processes,
standardization of size, the production of multiples, and more elaborate,
intricate designs than those seen previously in ceramic or metal.

Particular highlights from the exhibition include:

*	Perfume bottles, which are the most common surviving mold-blown
objects from antiquity. A variety of colors among the surviving examples
have led scholars to speculate that the colors may have played a role in
marketing different scents.
*	Examples of a popular form known as a "janiform" head flask, or
vessels with two faces placed back to back. These flasks were inspired by
the Roman god Janus, who presided over beginnings and endings, and thus was
used as a guardian of doorways; Janus was represented as a double-faced
head.
*	Vessels that are believed to be souvenirs from chariot races and
gladiatorial combats. These pieces are notable for their inscriptions, which
name the event participants.

A section of the exhibition will present the different techniques used to
create mold-blown glass forms. Much of what scholars know today about
mold-blown glass is drawn from careful observation of the vessels
themselves, noting where the mold seams are located, and using these same
seams to identify how many parts of a mold were used to shape the glass. The
exhibition will feature a new video on Roman mold-blowing glass techniques
to illustrate how the manufacture of these vessels may have been achieved.
Very few molds have survived from antiquity, so modern glassmakers have
attempted to recreate ancient techniques by using the designs of ancient
vessels to replicate molds and create ancient-style glass vessels with them.

Happenings at CMoG related to the exhibition:

The Hot Glass Demo team will present a special live, narrated demonstration
showcasing mold-blowing techniques. The glassmakers will create two
mold-blown pieces during this 30-minute demo. The first piece will be made
in a small terracotta mold, demonstrating techniques used during ancient
Roman times, and the second piece will be made at a larger scale using more
contemporary materials. Visitors to the Museum can see this show daily at
3:30 p.m., May 22 through Labor Day. 

Visitors of all ages will be able to try the technique of mold-blown
glassmaking for themselves during a 40-minute Make Your Own Glass
experience. A beautiful mold-blown glass grape ornament, inspired by a
vessel in the exhibition, is the perfect souvenir to remember a visit to
Finger Lakes Wine Country! This project is available May 16 through January
4, 2016. The cost is $29, and advanced booking is recommended.

About The Corning Museum of Glass

The Corning Museum of Glass is home to the world's most important collection
of glass, including the finest examples of glassmaking spanning 3,500 years.
The 1000,000-square-foot Contemporary Art + Design Wing
<http://www.cmog.org/contemporary> , which opened in March 2015, includes a
new 26,000-square-foot contemporary art gallery building, as well as one of
the world's largest facilities for glassblowing demonstrations and design
sessions. These live glassblowing demos (offered at the Museum, on the road,
and at sea on Celebrity Cruises) bring the material to life.

Daily Make Your Own Glass experiences at the Museum enable visitors to
create work in a state-of-the-art glassmaking studio. The campus in Corning
includes a year-round glassmaking school, The Studio, and the Rakow Research
Library, the world's preeminent collection of materials on the art and
history of glass. Located in the heart of the Finger Lakes Wine Country of
New York State, the Museum is open daily, year-round. Kids and teens, 17 and
under, receive free admission. www.cmog.org.

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