Glass is one of the oldest materials that has been known to man for almost five thousand years. In the Czech Republic at the beginning of the XII century glassmaking began to develop from the very high-quality sands available. Presumably, the first skills of the master were obtained from the Venetians, skilled in this matter, but quickly overtook their teachers. Czech glass began to disperse throughout Europe.
Raw materials
For the manufacture of glass requires pure sand. He was enough in the Czech Republic. I need potash. It was harder with that. For its production, it was necessary to turn wood into white ash. In addition to potash, firewood was needed to make glass. And they needed a lot, so when around the stoves, which were called guta, the whole forest was cut down, the glassmakers moved with the stove to another place. And because the masters were constantly moving, their settlements were called either Guta, or New Guta, or somehow, but the toponym "guta" was almost always present and preserved in the names to this day. Glass-making was a family affair and was kept secret. Some secrets of cooking, which surrounds Czech glass, have survived to this day.
Production
Initially, glass was brewed in low ovens (huts), in which open clay pots were placed. The constituent parts - sand, potash, were poured into them and the furnace was heated to the highest temperatures, above 1000 ° C. The furnaces did not last long, and they often had to be changed.
In modern production, hardened welded glass is first softened and a viscous fiery mass is obtained. The glassblower takes a special hollow metal tube. So that it does not heat up and can be held in hands, it is sheathed by one third with wood, and the part that touches the mouth of the glass blower is made of brass.
He lowers its tip into molten glass. Constantly twisting it, he gains a drop of the required size and shape. With special scissors, he cuts it off from the total mass, then places it in a moist wooden form and, exhaling into a tube, gives a drop of hot glass the desired appearance with walls of a certain thickness. But artwork can also be blown out of shape. It's just that the master knows very well the properties of the material, and can create works of art only by blowing. So, in general terms, we talked about how Czech glass is made.
Grinding and polishing
But this does not end there. The finished chilled product falls into the hands of grinders. A very thin layer of glass is removed with special disks, and the shape and thickness of the glass are specified. After that there is a quality check. Then the brilliant product goes to carvers and engravers who apply complex ornaments and monograms. Often after that, some details are gilded and again checked for quality. Finally, the final stage begins - polishing with special pastes and the last quality control. Thus, Czech glass was ready for sale. Its range is extremely diverse, and we will talk about it below.
What is bohemian glass
This is a special Czech glass. Bohemia is an area that occupies almost half of the Czech Republic; glass with the addition of lead oxide began to be brewed in it. This happened more than three hundred years ago, in the second half of the 17th century. Lead gave products weight, special transparency, the play of light in all colors of the rainbow, sonorousness. These strong and heavy products gradually, especially in the East, replaced the fragile and thin products of the Venetian glassblowers. To this day, the best Czech crystal is made in Bohemia. It makes toys, vases, glasses, chandeliers, which are polished by hand. And all products have a long crystal ringing.
Czech colored glass
Oxides of various metals give color to glass. If cobalt is added during the cooking process, the result will be a saturated blue color like sapphire, if gold is a golden ruby, if copper is a copper ruby. These two red colors differ in their shades, naturally, with gold the appearance is more noble. Various shades of green are obtained by adding iron, uranium and chromium, and pink gives silicon. Noble brown tones gives manganese.
Very often, such glass is used in the manufacture of stained glass.
Often in the process of manufacturing products use two colors. First, transparent glass is collected on the tube, then it is lowered into colored glass, which completely covers the initial blank. After blowing, it is cut so that part of the colored glass is removed and an intricate transparent pattern forms on a colored background. Vases are often decorated in this way.
Vases - a special conversation
In order not to be unfounded, we give examples of Czech colored cast glass. These vases are all made by experienced craftsmen without the use of molds. Each of them is a single unique work.
Pink with a transparent base is designed for flowers. The second, cobalt is a candy store.
Now you can see all the exclusivity of such material as Czech glass, the vases from which are so different.
Czech jewelry
Whoever was in the Czech Republic will never return without the world-famous jewelry “Yabloneks” or “Bohemia style”. Gold, silver, copper or bronze are often melted into this glass.
Headsets with necklaces and earrings are especially good, as well as just beads. Czech glass is an eternal decoration that is not afraid of, such as pearls, sweat or accidentally spilled vegetable oil. In addition, the choice of sizes of beads is huge - from the largest and most massive to bead and elegant. All jewelry is handmade, and therefore it is copyrighted.
In conclusion, it should be said that the Czech Republic is nearby, and we will be understood in it in Russian, and if you strain yourself, you can also understand something from your native Slavic speech.