ENTERPRISING CONQUERORS OR MARTIAL ENTREPRENEURS?

Soon after the glass-blowing tube became famous, many blown glass products appeared in Rome. These were small perfume bottles that the rich Romans wore on their belts, and huge barrels containing more than one hundred liters of wine, and goblets of the most bizarre shapes and colors: either in the form of grapes, orange, lotus flower, or in the form of a fantastic animal.

 

From the Archaeological Dig

The Romans quickly realized the benefits of a new way of making glass. Firstly, with the help of a glass-blowing tube, it is possible to make as many jugs or bowls per day as they did before in a month. Secondly, the blowing of vessels did not require such a high qualification as modeling from glass dough. The artist was easily replaced by an ordinary artisan. Only the manufacture of forms was required from the artist.

From difficult, painstaking artistic craft, glassmaking has turned into a profitable industry. This was a real revolution in the glass business!

Why, then, did the Phoenicians not have announced their discovery before? Why did they keep the glass tube secret? It was unprofitable for merchants to report about it. Its appearance would have lowered the price of glass products even earlier than it happened. And the inventors themselves at all times were simple toilers, dependent on nobles and merchants.

Modern Glassmaker

Having made even a significant discovery, such people quietly disappeared from the face of the earth. Their names remained unknown to anyone. So it was with the inventor of the glass-blowing tube.

But this does not stop us from honoring his memory. We respectfully think of a man whose ingenious invention has been serving humanity for two thousand years.