Travel through the Glass. Part 2.

The historical collection in Corning Museum of Glass is unrivalled.

From all over the world through centuries. From very first found glass forms  up until now.

From ancient Egypt, Rome, Middle East, Mediterranean, Venetian, masteries from 18-19 century Russia, Spain and England, fantastic Art Nouveau from France and Belgium and no less beautiful Art Deco pieces by Tiffany .

 

Goblets, vases, lamps, petit objects, tableware, plates, perfume bottles, jewelry boxes, chandeliers, ship models, interior décor, figurines, beads and necklaces, screens and myriad of tiny beautiful things which you simply can’t even know what they were for.

Luxurious crystal with cut ornaments, milk glass and mosaic glass, pastels and brights. Plasticity of this amazing material is incredible in artistic and talented hands of unknown and famous Masters.

How could those unknown artists of long gone past achieve  and create all this beauty without all those sophisticated tools and possibilities starting with the highest temperature ovens, kilns, etc., without all that technological knowledge available  in modern times? And they created amazing treasures, melting their hearts and souls into these beauties.

 

Quite often the lost secrets had to be reinvented. CmoG supports innovations and aspiring talents.

It’s breathtaking to watch how a ball of fire turns into a beautiful object right in front of you.

 These tiny vessels for eye liner paint belonged to some fashionista in Egypt 500-300 BC.  

Girls always wanted to look pretty.

What todays glass artisans can do is pure magic. But it’s certainly a miracle that these highly fragile treasures survived against all odds through the centuries. There’s so much to see and admire.

Thank you for stopping by.

*All images copyright Natalie Rapoport

Travel through the Glass. Part 1.

Corning Glass Museum isn’t just a local landmark in a small town upstate NY.

It is THE  MUSEUM of GLASS and I won’t be mistaken to say the biggest and the best one in the world.

I’ve been to famous Murano Glass Museum and frankly anticipated and expected much more of it. It was a bit of disappointment: small, cramped, more about chemical compounds and  history of making (for all professionals interested) than masterpieces to admire. And a few visitors wondering  and looking for something to fill expectations.

This weekend we made a 4 hour drive to Corning for the second time. (Not an easy task if I mention two exhausting hours in the line on the US/Canada border.)

 

Corning Museum of Glass –CmoG is absolutely unique institution world wide known in artisan glass making community and glass fans. It won’t be an exaggeration to call it a Glass Art Mecca.  The worlds leading glass museum and a research center. Hundreds of thousands visitors yearly come here to learn and admire.

Established in 1950 on the base of Corning Glass Works factory founded in 1851, the museum soon separated into a non-profit entity and since then steadily growing and expanding despite all hard times and even natural disasters like 1972 flood, which left a thousands of library and glass treasures to be painstakingly restored.

 

Today the modern glass building houses the vast collection of glass masterpieces dated from ancient Egypt and Rome to nowadays, from many regions traditionally  famous for glass making and less known.

CmoG library collects every printed word about glass in many languages, so far there are about 400 000 entries. The museum became a research , teaching and practicing center with fantastically equipped studios, where the best artisans come to teach master classes and share new technics with aspiring glass makers.

The building itself is an architectural gem of exposition , which exhibits and displays various collections, fun installations, family friendly touchscreen stations and visuals in the very best interactive way possible. There’s an open demo studio with scheduled glass blowing shows. Fantastic!

  

Spacious and soft lighted there’s no a single right angle, only curves and ramps between two levels. Very clever layout and great interior design.

 

Exhibits are wonderfully grouped and carefully curated, lovingly preserved and accurately described. The collection isn’t frozen solid. We found it quite different from the last year, themed in other way.  

This is a magic travel in time through the glass and a very entertaining one.

And like through the mirror I decided to reflect backwards starting with modern glass. The variety of forms, shapes, textures and colors, the mastery of glass artists is astonishing.

Hope you’ll enjoy as much as we did.

 

 These delicious fruits the size of a giant beach balls look so fresh and juicy.

I wish everyone a lovely week.

*All images copyright Natalie Rapoport