The ancient Egyptians have left us many distinct proofs that glassmaking was practised in Egypt. At the same time, the glazing of pottery was also carried out, proving that they knew the mode of mixing, fusing, and melting the proper ingredients for glassmaking. Among the tombs of Thebes many specimens of glass and glazed pottery beads have been found, which suggests a date about 3,500 years ago.
From the Egyptians, the Greeks and Romans acquired the art of glassmaking, which in Nero’s time was so highly developed that clear crystal glasses were produced in the form of drinking cups and goblets, which superseded the use of gold cups and were much prized by the Emperor in those days.
Many specimens of old Roman glass discovered have been preserved in the British Museum, and, although many valuable pieces have been lost by disintegration and collapse due to the influence of years of exposure, there still remain some very fine examples which show that the Romans were highly skilled in glassmaking. One of the finest examples of the work of the ancient Romans in glassmaking is the Portland Vase, which was unearthed near Rome. This is an ornamented vase showing white opaque figures upon a dark blue background. The white opal appears to have been originally cased all over the blue and the beautiful figures carved out in cameo fashion, with astonishing patience and skill upon the part of the operator.
The Venetians and Muranians followed the Romans in the art, and examples of old Venetian glassware show rare skill and ingenuity. To the Venetians belongs the honour of first making glass at a cost to allow of its being more generally used, and they also introduced the art of making window glass and drinking vessels into this country. Jacob Verzelina, a Venetian, introduced such glassmaking into England, working at a factory in Crutched Friars, London, between 1550 and 1557, where he made window glass, afterwards carrying on similar work in other places about the country until his death in 1606.
Not until 1619 were glass works started in the neighbourhood of Stourbridge. There we find some remains of a factory worked by Tyzack about that date in making window glass in the village of Oldswinford. That Stourbridge should have been selected as one of the early centres for glassmaking is probably due to the presence in that locality of the so necessary and important to glass manufacturers in building their furnaces and pots, and the coal used for maintaining the fires for melting their glass.