COLOURED GLASSES OF THE ANCIENTS. ^3^ 



confirmed. Whence, after the difcovery of the blue from 

 cobalt, the art of tingeing glafsblue by means of iron has had 

 the fame fate with feveral other attainments now loft ; namely, 

 to have been difcarded and forgotten on the account of new- 

 invented, more commodious, and certain expedients and 

 niethods. 



SECOND SECTION. 



THESE coloured mufaic glafs-paftes of the ancients agree^The preceding 

 with refpea to their opacity and fcoriaceous fradure, with our flf/^gna'^elT"* 

 modern enamels. On the other hand, the deceitful imitations 

 of gems already mentioned before (hew, that the ancients 

 likewife knew how to prepare beautiful, high-colouied, and 

 tranfparent glafs-paftes. 



But however well known thofe works in glafs of the an- but the ancients 

 cients may be, fince both earlier and later writers have given P^^effed another 



,-',,, , " method or paint- 



fufficient information of them, and feveral fpecimens pre- ing, little known 

 ferved in the colle6tions of antiquaries afford a dire6l know- ^^ antiquaries: 

 ledge of this fubjeft ; it is, on the contrary, very furprifing, 

 that antiquaries are fo little acquainted with that entirely pe- 

 culiar and by far more remarkable painting on glafs, which is 

 formed of varioufly coloured delicate glafs fibres, joined with It is formed of 

 the greateft nicety, and by fubfequent fufion conglutinated jn- *^f''"'^^.^'"*»of 

 to an homogeneous compact mats. In the earlier yvorks on fufion: 

 antiquities this fcarce produ6lion of art is not at all mentioned ; 

 the reafon of which is probably this, that the fpecimens now 

 exifting of it were found, perhaps, only about the middle of 

 this (laji) century. 



Among later antiquaries Count Caylus appears to be the Flrft mentioned 

 firft, who in his CoUeSiions of Antiqvities has given informa- ^y ^°""' 

 tion, accompanied by rather inadequate drawings, of this An- 

 gular fpecies of mofaic work. Winkelmann has afterwards, in 

 his Annotations on the Hijiory of the Art mnong the Ancients, 

 (page 5, feq.), more accurately defcribed two other antiques 

 of this kind, with the appellation, PiSiures made of Glafs- 

 Tubes, in the following paflage : " The works of the ancients Ample defcrip- 



in glafs, which are not noticed in the Hijiory of the Arts, de- "°" by WinkcU 



o ^ ^ " ' mann. 



ferve particularly to be mentioned in this place; more efpe- 

 cially, becaufe the ancients carried the art of working in glafs 

 to a much higher degree than we have arrived at ; a ia€i 

 which, to Ibofe who have not fecn their works of this kind, 



might 



