The Unsoul Glass

Glass was first made about 5,000 years ago, in Western Asia, Egypt, and Mycenae, on Crete, an island in the Aegean Sea. Today the word “glass” is associated with transparency, but the earliest glass was an opaque material. Lustrous, easy to work when heated, ancient glass was made to resemble lapis lazuli, turquoise, and other precious stones. Like those precious stones, glass was used for ornaments worn by pharaohs, funerary goods, and other very special purposes.The production of glass vessels began in Mesopotamia and Egypt in about the sixteenth century BCE. During Egypt’s 18th Dynasty (1570 BCE), glass vessels produced under the patronage of the royal family were used as gifts to powerful persons. The footed cup of core-formed glass in 

this exhibition is one example. Given to a member to the nobility, it was doubtless cherished and may have had ritual uses.
Wine and other alcoholic beverages have long been part of exalted occasions, washing away pollution and enhancing rulers' power. The patella cup (so called because it is shaped like a kneecap), it was a holy vessel for serving sacred wine to the gods. Millefiori glass, its name derived from the Italian for “thousand flowers,” does look like a thousand flowers in bloom. Such works beauty expressed reverence for the gods.When transparent glass began to be made from about the eighth century BCE, its transparency opened up a new dimension: enjoying the sight of the contents of the glass. Perhaps that is why vessels that had been made of metal or clay were replaced by glass vessels. For example, the rhyton terminating in a lion’s head  was a vessel designed for pouring liquids; through it, a liquid filled with animal power would be offered to the gods or the king during rituals. 
This first section of the exhibition introduces wine vessels used in offerings to exalted beings.

Conclusion

* A glass is a great invention which helps us to drink liquids. But it also teaches us to live our life in a transparent way like a glass so that everyone can enjoy with us without any discrimination of caste, age, sex, colour etc.

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