LaunchPad: Ancient Glassmaking—The Core-Formed Technique

From 1600 B.C. to the first decade of the first century A.D., the core-formed technique was the most common means of making colorful glass vessels in ancient Near Eastern, Egyptian, and Eastern Mediterranean cultures. The technique derives its name from the wrapping of molten glass around a solid core, as demonstrated in this video. Core-formed vessels usually contained unguents or ointments and were part of the toilette. This video was created for LaunchPad, a program of digital interpretive materials that supplement the viewing of works of art on display in the Art Institute of Chicago’s galleries.