Jim and Anne's Road Trip 2: Corning, NY 7/5/14

After lunch we went to the Corning Museum of Glass, which has a stupendous collection of glass objects dating back to forever, and is one of the best museums we've ever toured. In addition to their stunning and superbly curated collection, they also operate a glass-making studio, provide educational programs, and allow visitors to make glass objects. (And, yes, Corning is the home of Corningware and Pyrex.)

A ribbon-glass cup, c. 25 BC - 50 AD.

A core-formed vase from Egypt, c. 1350 BC, created by applying molten glass to a removable core.

A cut-glass pitcher from Iran, c. 425 BC--an early example of clear, almost colorless glass.

Plaque with Brothel Keeper, c. 350 BC. A Ptolemaic mosaic-glass plaque depicting a character in the type of Greek drama known as New Comedy.

Inlay Portrait of the Pharaoh Akhenaten, c. 1353-1336 BC. Glass making was introduced into Egypt from Mesopotamia about 1426 BC during the reign of Akhenaten's grandfather.

Two flasks, eastern Mediterranean area, c. 4th-5th century AD.

A mosaic glass bowl, late 1st century BC to 1st century AD, made from flat, ribbonlike canes arranged in geometric patterns. Glass canes are made by stretching molten glass into a thin rod which cools quickly and can then be cut into pieces and used in glass mosaics. More complex canes can be made by dipping a cooled cane into another color and then stretching it again, or by laying thin canes side by side and heating them until they fuse. Canes can give mosaics a three-dimensional effect.

The Corning Ewer, c. 10th century. This Islamic cameo-glass ewer was blown from colorless glass, dipped into molten green glass, then the green overlay was cut, ground and polished.

This 17th century candlestick and ewer from Venice are examples of filigree glass made with colorless, white and sometimes colored canes.

Glass bottles called Angsters, with necks in the form of multiple tubes, originated during the Roman empire but became popular in Europe after 1200. Liquid swirled and gurgled as it moved through the tubes.

Two examples of trick glasses from 18th century Europe. Trick glasses, often elaborately shaped, were designed to be as difficult as possible to drink from without spilling the contents. Liquid in the left-hand glass must be sucked through the lower end of the handle. In order to drink from the other glass, liquid must be sucked through the mouth of the stag while covering a hole in the goblet's stem.

In Stuart Scotland and England (c. 1400-1600 AD), raised-relief needlework became popular. This beaded basket contains thousands of glass beads, each threaded on an individual wire and then hand-embroidered onto silk.

Large communal drinking glasses, called Humpen, were popular between 1570 and 1740 throughout Europe. They often held more than a gallon of beer.

A Dutch goblet from the early 1700s. The engraver used a diamond point to tap against the glass. The effects of light and shade were made by varying the density of the engraved dots.

Two double-walled beakers from Russia, c. 1800.

A detail from one of the above beakers.

A drinking goblet from Germany, c. 1820.

During the 1700s and early 1800s wealthy families enjoyed music played on glass instruments, including the glass harmonica--cups filled with varying amounts of water which were played by rubbing a moistened finger around the edge. In 1762, Benjamin Franklin improved the process by attaching perfectly tuned, waterless glass bowls to a horizontal spindle which was activated by a foot pedal. Mozart, Richard Strauss and numerous other composers wrote for the glass harmonica, and artists as recent as Linda Ronstadt have recorded songs with glass-harmonica accompaniment.

A huge glass boat, France, 1900. This is one of two gilded boats made for the Paris World's Fair.

A mosque lamp made in Paris, c. 1875.

A wine glass made in Vienna, c. 1888.

A cameo vase made in England, c. 1885.

A wedding cup, Bohemia, c. 1880, used by a bride and groom to drink their wedding toast. The small cup at the top rotates so that the base of the figure, which is actually a larger cup, can be inverted and both cups filled and drunk from at the same time.

A large, elaborate marble tabletop inlaid with more than 2000 pieces of mosaic and monochrome glass. Vatican Mosaic Workshop, mid-19th century.

A detail from the tabletop incorporating ancient Roman and Hellenistic three-dimensional mosaic inserts.

An early 19th-century reproduction of an ancient mosaic cup made of fused molten canes.

A detail from a Roman mosaic-glass bowl, late 1st century BC to 1st century AD.

Details of two glass bowls from the Chihuly Garden and Glass museum in Seattle, created by the virtuoso glass maker, Dale Chihuly. His subtle rendering of three-dimensional textures, while echoing the effects of ancient mosaic glass, infuses infinite movement into a thin, flat surface creating staggeringly beautiful, nuanced depth, texture and color that can make you weep with joy.

A Carnival-glass punchbowl set, Ohio, c. 1909.

The sugar bowl on the left and the center vase with a ball are unique pieces made by a glass blower to showcase his skills, c. 1860. The blue sugar bowl on the right is a rare example of early American blown table glass, c. 1825. All were made in Pittsburgh, PA.

A detail from Ghost Walk under Infinite Darkness by Andrew Erdos, 2013. Blown and mirrored glass, cut glass cane, applied dichroic glass (shows different colors depending on the angle of view), two-way mirrored box, and LED light.